


Keep It Safe

by MorticianAddams



Category: Pirates of the Caribbean (Movies)
Genre: 1740s, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Declarations Of Love, Derogatory Language, Eventual Smut, Explicit Language, F/M, Falling In Love, Forbidden Love, Foreign Language, I Tried, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Inspired by Pirates of the Caribbean, Language Barrier, Minor Character Death, Minor Original Character(s), Movie: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Period Typical Attitudes, Period Typical Bigotry, Period-Typical Racism, Period-Typical Sexism, Pirates, Racist Language, Sex, The Silent Mary (Pirates of the Caribbean), True Love, War, canon timeline makes no fucking sense, does not follow canon timeline
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-11
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:47:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 32,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23105704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MorticianAddams/pseuds/MorticianAddams
Summary: **Currently on HOLD** Cora Anson wanted nothing more than to see her father before his expedition at sea. However, an attack on her ship causes her to begin a new journey. It was a journey that turned her world upside down.** For an interactive experience, please look for 'coraansondiary' AND 'officernicocortez' on Tumblr!Small note: Officer Nico Cortez is NOT an OC, even though his name is original. Unfortunately, the character that I am referring to in the story has no name in "PotC: Dead Men Tell No Tales". I have decided to use the actors real name because it's badass. Lol.
Relationships: Officer Cortez/ Female OC
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

The constant rocking and rolling of this damn ship was going to make her sick, but this was the price she had to pay if she wanted to be close to her father. The small brunette tilted her head backward and closed her eyes, wondering when this torture would end. Another rock of the ship caused the back of her skull to meet the thick wooden pillars behind her. She groaned as she placed her hand onto the back of her head, cursing under her breath and rubbing the injured spot. She had to ask herself if this sudden storm was because she was the only woman on a ship filled with men? That was the superstition, wasn’t it? Women were bad luck on ships or some nonsense like that. She wasn’t even fully sure anymore. All she knew was she wanted to get off this damn ship as soon as possible.

“Miss Anson! Miss Anson!”

A boy came barreling down the wet, slopping steps from the upper deck, his hair matted to the sides of his face and his clothing a sopping mess. He sucked in a deep breath, as he grabbed onto the nearest pillar. 

“Miss Anson! You’re all right!”

“Yes, yes I’m fine. Just feeling a little ill.”

The boy kneeled in front of her and smiled a big toothy grin. He was a young boy, around the age of 9. A young midshipman, as it were. He was full of joie de vivre; running all over the ship and doing anything he can to please the captain. It was clear that he loved the naval life. 

“The storm is letting up. We’ll be out of this mess soon!” 

“That’s wonderful. Thank you, James.”

He turned to run back upstairs, presumably to continue helping the others keep the ship afloat. Before he made it all the way up the stairs, the woman called to him. 

“Yes, ma’am?”

“Please, call me Cora.”

He hesitated for a moment, before finally smiling at her. 

“Yes, Miss Cora.”

He took off again, disappearing onto the top deck. From where she was sitting, the sky was starting to look calmer. The dark, menacing gray clouds were starting to disperse and the sun was trying its damnedest to make its grand reappearance. Despite that, the ship was still rocking, and Cora’s body had had enough. She crawled over to a barrel and put her face over the opening. The next unfortunate soul that came down the stairs was met with coughing, gagging and the smell of vomit. He placed a hand over his mouth and nose, to keep himself from joining her. 

“Miss Anson, the captain wanted me to check on you.”

When Cora got a moment to speak, she picked her head up and sighed. 

“James just came to see me. I’m fine. Thank you, though.”

“Understood, ma’am.” 

Not a moment later, he disappeared. Either he had other chores to attend to, or the smell of the vomit was too overpowering. Cora figured it to be the latter, considering the small area she was in. She, honestly, wouldn’t be able to spend much time in there either. So, as soon as the ship seemed stable enough, she hiked up her skirts and ventured onto the top deck. Cora stopped the first crewman she saw and frowned. Before she could speak, she felt her cheeks get warm. She wasn’t sure why but something about throwing up in a barrel was a little embarrassing to her. Even though it was a normal bodily function, she felt as if women weren’t supposed to do that, or at least make sure no one found out about it. 

“I apologize, I got a little sick. The ship was- “

“No need to say more, ma’am. I’ll have one of the cabin boys take care of it.”

“Thank you.” 

Cora walked over to the handrails of the ship and looked over. The water was, now, lapping gently against the ship. It was almost as if the storm had never happened, had it not been for the fact that it was still a little gray out. Those menacing clouds had dispersed but left mass amounts of fog instead. The weather on the sea was strange to her but normal to everyone else on board. They were used to it, she wasn’t. Cora was used to some dreary days in England, especially around this time of year. The weather was a gamble, every single day. It seemed like down here in the Caribbean the weather was warm and very often, sunny. Today was a minor exception. Honestly, she almost forgot that she wasn’t close to the port in the English Channel.

Her eyes focused on the waves and she let her mind wander. Commodore George Anson, Cora’s father, was always out at sea, sometimes for years on end. One of his excursions had taken him away from his family for close to two years. He was always leaving Cora and her mother alone, but that was how his career operated. Cora’s mother, Katharine, never complained though. She was used to it. She knew how much her husband loved the sea life and she never wanted to take that from him. She was a loyal woman, through and through. Someone that Cora based her morals on.

It had been months since she had seen her father, for he had gone off on another mission, after the success of the Porto Bello operation in Panama and last she heard; her father would be heading to the Pacific to attack Spain’s possessions, continuing the tensions with the European country. However, he would be stopping in Port Royal to refit before they set off again and she was excited to finally see him. 

Cora didn’t have many things that reminded her of her father, but she did have at least one thing. It was a necklace he gave her when she was 15. It was a simple-looking black rock, set in gold. When it was held up the light, it becomes almost translucent, as if you were looking into amber. Any other time, it looked as if it was a piece of lava rock. She reached up to touch it, a smile sliding across her face as she did.

Cora’s thoughts were abruptly disrupted by someone tugging at her elbow. She looked down to see James, smiling up at her. Cora returned the smile, as she turned towards him. 

“Why, hello, James.”

“Hi, Miss Cora!”

“Are you finished with your chores?”

His smile almost completely disappeared. He looked down at the deck and kicked at imaginary rocks.

“Almost. I just wanted to check on you. See how you were feeling. I heard you threw up all over the place.”

Cora pursed her lips together, feigning annoyance. 

“Now that is just a lie. I only threw up in a barrel.”

“Close enough,” he said with a cheeky grin. 

“Well, I heard the lieutenants talking and they said they’re making you sleep in there, so I don’t have to.”

“No!” The look of horror on his face caused Cora to laugh.

“It stinks! I’ll never be able to fall asleep!”

“Ahh well, that’s too bad. You’ll have to get used to stinky smells on ships.”

“Miss Cora, it’s worse than the livestock down there!” He protested, his voice turning very whiney.

She folded her arms over her chest and scoffed at him.

“It is not!”

“You stink.” He said through a laugh, before running off. 

Cora watched him and shook her head. Cheeky little thing, he was. Ever since she stepped onto this ship, James clung to her as if she was his older sister. Even though they had only known each other for a little more than three weeks, he had a special bond with her that she didn’t really share with any of the other children. If her father and mother had had a son, she would want it to be James. Even though he was only 9, he tried to act much older. He tried to act like one of the teenage boys that were on the watch. He wanted to be just like them, but Cora had a habit of bringing him back down to being a true child. 

James had made his way over to a group of boys standing by the bow of the boat. They were all looking towards the fog that still took over in the distance. Cora folded her arms over her chest, watching and wondering what was so interesting over there. James squeezed through the crowd to get a better view. The officer of the watch stood there, peering through the spyglass. The other midshipman beside him looked out into the distance.

“What was it?”

“It … it looked like something in the fog, but I can’t be sure of what it was exactly.”

He took the spyglass from the officer and looked through it. He saw nothing but perhaps the fog was just too thick to see anything. Or perhaps the officer was just seeing things. 

“What do you want to do?” Asked the one holding the spyglass, looking to the officer with a slightly concerned face. 

He hesitated, unsure of himself. From what Cora knew about him, Hollom was an incompetent midshipman who was too old to still hold that title, but he was a candidate to become a commissioned officer. His current duty, however, was to keep watch over the ship, a job that changed to other midshipmen throughout the day. 

“I said, I can’t be certain.” He said, looking down at the ground, not wanting to look at the group behind him. He knew their eyes on were on him; he could almost feel them, like hot daggers stabbing at him. 

“Well you’re an officer of the watch, you need to be certain. Are we going to beat to quarters or not, Hollom? You must make a decision.”

The watchman, Hollom, sucked in a breath, looking to the other midshipman and shrugged. The midshipman, looking perturbed, turned to the group. 

“We shall beat to quarters!”

Cora watched as everyone began to scatter around her. The sound of the drums from a Royal Marine started. It was chaos. She felt as if she was lost and was unsure of where to even go. Where did you run at a time like this? Thankfully, James ran to Cora and grabbed her hand. He began to pull her towards the entrance to the decks, below. 

“What’s happening?”

“We aren’t sure, Miss Cora! Mr. Hollom may have seen something in the fog, but he wasn’t sure.” 

The midshipman who made the call ran downstairs, his top hat askew and his face beat red. He was making sure that Cora was somewhere safe. He nodded towards James for a job well done. 

“This is just a precaution, miss. If Hollom did see something, we can at least be read- “

At that moment a loud bang sounded through the air. Cora ducked behind some barrels, letting out a scream and placing her hands over her ears. She had never dealt with a battle, especially at sea. She didn’t need to be an expert in battle to know that that sound was a cannon.  
This was a world that belonged to sailors, not daughters of commodores. She wished that she could make herself smaller, but she couldn’t. She wasn’t even sure if this was the safest place to be or if there was even a safe place. 

The midshipman, who Cora knew as Calamy, ran upstairs with James in tow. Cora wanted so badly to yell at James and tell him to stay with her. He was much too young to see battle, but that was the way of the Royal Navy. That was war in this modern age.

“Miss Cora, stay here and keep your head down! Stay as flat as you can!” 

With that, he was gone. He disappeared onto the top deck once again. 

Cora could hear the shouting of various men above her. The one that was the most prominent was the captain. He barked orders, calling for the Royal Marines to get ready for a fight. Another loud bang sounded, making her fall to the ground and curl up. This time it was clear that the ship was hit. She heard the impact and the cracking of the hull. It sounded as if the ship was tearing in half. 

She tried listening some more but the blood, that was now, rushing through her ears was deafening. Her heart was nearly pounding out of her chest. Thoughts flooded her head and none of them were good. Were the Spanish attacking them? After all, they were still in conflict with Great Britain. Was it pirates? They were in the Caribbean. Whatever it was, she wanted no part of it. She wished she could just close her eyes and wish herself away. She was beginning to think that leaving England was a bad idea. 

The yelling above deck became louder, somehow. It seemed like there were more men aboard, due to the sheer volume of voices. Gunfire soon took over and Cora continued to stay hidden. 

After what seemed like a lifetime, the deck began to fall silent. Now, she heard a single man shouting orders, but it wasn’t the voice of their captain. Perhaps it was a lieutenant or another high-ranking officer? No. The orders that were being shouted didn’t seem like they would come from their mouths. They were, definitely, British, though. 

“Look for anybody hiding. Surely some of these sailors are weak and wanted to avoid the fight!” 

The sound of boots began to parade down the stairs below decks. Cora tried to peek through the barrels to see who they were, even though she already had a good inclination. It didn’t take long for one of them to find her. Hiding behind barrels wasn’t the greatest hiding place but she had been far too frightened to move anywhere else. 

One of the men grabbed her by the ankle and dragged out her from her hiding spot. Cora kicked and screamed, knowing full well, in the back of her mind, that that would do absolutely nothing to help her. Another man stood over her, a rope in his grasp. He tied Cora’s hands and feet before hoisting her up under her armpits, as his accomplice grabbed her ankles, once again.

They walked up the steps, Cora squiggling every inch of the way. She was still screaming. One of the men grumbled, telling his partner that he should have ‘shut the bitch up.’ The other man had responded in his thick Irish accent, telling him that he didn’t have anything to shut her up with. However, he had an idea. He moved his lips to her ear; his breath was hot and smelled of rum and decay. 

“If ye keep screamin’, I’m gon’ slit yer troat.”

Cora did as she was told and instantly shut her mouth. A part of her wondered if being killed would be better than what was possibly going to happen to her next. 

“Oh look, cap’n! They have a little whore on board! Wonder who she was waiting for next, below the decks!”

The captain turned to the man that seemed to be caught in rhyme and nodded once. When he turned back to look at Cora, who was, now, being placed onto the ground and tied to a post, he wore an evil grin. It was enough to make her skin crawl. 

Cora, finally, got the chance to look around her and she noticed how many men were left alive. There were a few bodies on the ground, but most of them were just injured and tied up. 

“So, who is this, Captain Hammond?”

The captain that Cora had come to know and respect, stayed silent. This annoyed the intruder, causing him to kneel and get close to the captain’s face. If it wasn’t clear that they were pirates, now, it was. Hammond looked over to Cora, his eyes sad. He had failed; failed his crew, failed Commodore Anson, and failed Cora. He shook his head as the man whispered something into his ear. The man stared at him for a moment before straightening up and moving towards Cora. Hammond struggled against the ropes that bound him, but it was no use, he wasn’t going to be getting free. 

“Get away from her!” 

It was Calamy that yelled out. He, too, was struggling against the ropes. As a matter of fact, most of the men were wiggling around, trying to get out of their restraints. These men were warriors and they didn’t want to sit idly by and let these pirates win. Unfortunately, this ship wasn’t big enough for a battle and the pirates outnumbered them.

“Well, hello there.” The pirate bent down, getting level with Cora’s gaze. 

“I’m Captain Cross, and what’s your name?”

“Don’t tell him!” Captain Hammond shouted. He was, quickly, silenced by another pirate, punching him in the punch. That seemed to give Cross enough information. She was someone special, at least to that captain. He just didn’t know how special.

Cora tried to avert her emerald eyes from the man. She wanted to look anywhere but at him, but she was finding it difficult. If she turned her head to the side, she saw dead bodies, scattered across the deck. The best she could do was close her eyes, but that only caused the pirate captain to grab her chin. She squeaked at his touch, terror sweeping over her. 

“That’s fine, lass. You don’t have to tell me.” 

He took to his knee, as his eyes wandered the rest of her body. He focused on cleavage caused by her corset and tight bodice. Nestled in between her breasts was the black rock. He grabbed at it, his fingers grazing the top of her breast when he did. Cora looked straight ahead, trying to pretend that he wasn’t there and that this wasn’t happening. The rock didn’t seem to interest him since he let it drop back down to her chest. He did find something that he had an interest in, but he couldn’t see. Cross moved his hand down to the bottom of her skirts and took a grip on them. 

“Say, boys, it’s been quite a while since we’ve had a woman around. What do you say we take advantage of that, right in front of this lovely crew?”

This was it. They were going to rape her. A chill ran down her spine and her skin began to crawl all over again. She tried to take in a deep breath, but it didn’t catch. She tried again but had the same results. It felt as if all the oxygen around her was sucked away. Her heart began to pound against her rib cage as if was trying to break free from her chest and expose itself to the world. She tried for another deep breath, but nothing came. Cora noticed that her breathing was becoming faster and more erratic as the seconds ticked on. As all this happening, Captain Cross was pulling up her skirts, revealing her legs inches at a time. 

As her breathing became chaotic, his hand slipped under her skirts and moved up the rest of the way up her thigh. She could feel his grimy fingers, gently, touching her labia. Cora could feel her eyes welling up, as the panic attack she was experiencing was reaching its peak. Captain Cross moved his lips to the side of her neck, sending another shiver through her body, as a gasp escaped her mouth. 

Just as Cora thought he would finally penetrate her with his finger, a yell came from behind her. She turned her head toward the sound and saw James running towards Captain Cross and herself. Where had he been hiding this whole time? She didn’t care, she was just happy he was safe. At least he was. Now, he was putting himself into danger. Too much danger. 

“Leave Miss Cora alone!” 

James closed the space between him and Cross. It wasn’t until he was close enough that Cora noticed he was carrying a wooden board. Cross reached down onto his belt, pulled out his pistol and aimed it at James. Cora didn’t have time to protest. Cross pulled the trigger, unleashing a bullet towards James and hitting him in the forehead. Cora screamed as James’ eyes rolled backward, his head tilting and him falling to the ground. Bits of brain matter and skull fragments speckled the blood that began pooling around him. Tears streamed down her face, blinding her, momentarily. She shook her head, violently, from side to side. The only word that she could utter was a constant stream of ‘no.’ 

The shot caused Calamy to squirm, even more, all while screaming James’ name. Other men had followed suit, while some stared in shock at the dead boy. Somehow, Calamy managed to get free. He scrambled to his feet and ran at Captain Cross. Knocking into him, the teenage boy pinned him to the ground. The crew cheered him on before the pirate crew took hold of him. Captain Cross, slowly, got to his feet and sneered at him. 

“Is this little bitch that important that you’d all risk dying for her?” 

“You’re going to kill us, regardless. At least we can die with honor, by keeping her safe.” Said Captain Hammond. 

Cross let out a bolstering laugh and placed his hands onto his hips. 

“Honor, eh? We’ll see about that.” 

Cross turned to his crew and threw his hands into the air. 

“Let’s go, boys. Leave the bitch here.”

Cora raised her brow in confusion. She was grateful he wouldn’t be touching her anymore but the sudden change in his demeanor was strange. He just wanted to have his crew rape her in front of the Royal Navy and now he wanted to just leave her there? Did he think they wouldn’t try to free themselves?

“Kill that boy first, then set the ship on fire. Let’s see how much honor they have.” 

One of the pirates walked over to Calamy. He stood over the boy and quickly plunged a dagger into him. His screams filled the air, causing Cora to closed her eyes and shake her head again. Her breathing had relaxed but her heart was still beating uncontrollably. 

“You don’t want to have fun with the girl, sir?”

“Oh, we are going to have fun with her. We’re going to watch her burn. Watch her skin peel from her body as the flames engulf her, all while she realizes that the Royal Navy did nothing to save her.” 

They left soon afterward, lighting a barrel on fire. It didn’t take long for the fire to spread. The heat from the flames was beginning to make Cora sweat and the smoke was making her choke. She would rather die like this than have that ogre continue to touch her. Cora put her head back against the mast and looked up towards the sky. It was a lot bluer than it was an hour or so ago, even if it was being mixed with smoke. Screams of men burning alive began to pollute the air. That was a sound that she would never forget.

Cora felt something touch her arm, making her look down. It was Calamy. He was still alive; barely. He coughed, blood dripping from his mouth. He took a small knife from his boot and began to cut Cora’s ropes. When he was finished, he looked up to her and tried to muster a smile. 

“Go, Miss Cora. Get off the ship.” 

His voice was weak. Cora knew he was dying. She placed a hand onto his cheek and frowned. There was nothing she could do to save him. Calamy had moved next to her, and when she turned to look at him again, his eyes were staring straight ahead, and they looked lost. His chest was no longer rising and falling; his body had gone limp. He was gone. She sucked in a breath, trying to hold it together a bit longer. She placed a kiss onto his cheek and whispered, ‘thank you’. 

The flames were spreading quickly, which meant she didn’t have a lot of time to cut all of the men, still alive, loose. She, however, was still going to try. Cora grabbed the knife from Calamy’s hand and raced over to the closet men. She got them freed and one of them took the knife from her.

“Get out of here, we’ll get as many as we can.” 

The only place to go was overboard and with her dress, that would be incredibly dangerous. Cora found the strength to rip the dress off, leaving her in her corset and chemise. She vaulted over the rails and plummeted down into the water below. 

Thankfully, Cora didn’t have to float there for too long, before she pieces of the broken hull to cling onto. She dropped her head and closed her eyes. 

“Is anyone alive?” 

“Not sure, sir. We’re still looking.” 

“Why bother? It’s an English ship.”

Cora awoke what seemed to be hours later, as the sun was setting in the distance, to voices with thick Spanish accents. Her eyes fluttered, wanting to shut again. She couldn’t shut them though; she knew she needed to get their attention. Fearing that if she let go of the wood, she wouldn’t have enough strength to swim, she decided to call out to the men. 

“Help!” Her voice was hoarse, her throat was sore. It felt as if she had swallowed embers and sand. 

“Help! Please!” 

“Over there! A woman!” Cora looked towards the voice, to see a small boat rowing towards her. Cora closed her eyes again. A moment later, she was being pulled into the boat. She was too exhausted to open her eyes again. She just hoped that, now, she would be safe.


	2. It Begins

Cora awoke to a prism of light cascading onto her face. Turning her head, she noticed the glass pyramid embedded into the ceiling of the lower deck. British ships had the same setup to allow natural light to enter the cabins below. The hammock that she was in swung gently from side to side, almost rocking her back to sleep like a tired babe. Cora let out a soft sigh as she brought her feet over the side of the fabric and let them hang there as she sat up. For a moment she wondered if she had had a bad dream; maybe the ship wasn’t attacked by pirates and maybe people that she came to care for weren’t murdered.

When she slid off the hammock and looked down at her clothing, she realized that she hadn’t been dreaming. The nightmare had, indeed, happened.

_“Get her into the boat!”_

_A man reached into the blue, cool water and gripped Cora by the arm. He pulled her close to the small rowboat and, with the help of another sailor, pulled her abroad. Once saved from the water, the two men noticed that she was practically naked. The water had, obviously, soaked her clothing, causing the white fabric to become see-through. Cora could recall one of the men removing his coat and draping it over her, to save her from the humiliation of anyone else seeing her body and to keep her warm. He sat down behind her, propping her up into his lap. He began to rub her arms, as he spoke in Spanish to the other man. She tried to figure out why they were speaking English when they could have spoken in their native tongue the entire time. However, the exhaustion she was feeling was making it hard for her brain to make connections._

_The man bent his head down, as Cora’s eyes began to flutter shut._

_“You will be okay, miss.”_

The realization that she was on a Spanish galleon made her stomach dropped to her feet and her heart race. She tried to suck in a deep breath and didn’t feel it catch. It was happening again, that feeling of absolute dread and panic was taking over her. Her legs felt weak and a cold sweat broke out on the back of her neck. She took a few shaky steps over to the wooden pillar that held up her hammock. Placing her hand against it, she steadied herself, trying to catch her breath. Maybe if she closed her eyes and counted to 10, she would start to calm down. Maybe.

But no, she didn’t even get the chance to do that. As soon as her emerald eyes disappeared behind their lids, she heard the familiar sound of boots on wooden steps, followed by voices speaking in Spanish. Cora froze, unsure of what to do. There was nowhere else for her to go. This ship was foreign to her and the best thing she could do was hide behind the pillar that held up one side of her hammock. Her face was split in two behind the pillar, causing only one eye to see who was coming down the stairs. He was of average build and average height with black hair and tanned skin.

Cora swallowed hard, as he made it to the last step. His face turned into a slight panic when he didn’t see the woman still lying in the hammock. However, that worry quickly dissipated when he saw her standing behind the pillar. He turned his head slightly, and called up to the top deck, his eyes never leaving her face. He spoke in Spanish to whoever was up there, and Cora had absolutely no idea what the hell he was saying.

When his eyes focused back on her, he saw the fear that plagued her. Her eyes were fixed on him, watching his every movement with precision. If he flicked a finger or wiggled his nose, she made sure to see it. Something about it made him smirk a little. He never saw himself as intimidating, but I guess in the right circumstances, he was. He couldn’t blame her. She was on a ship she didn’t know; around men, she didn’t know that were all speaking a language that she probably didn’t understand. Maybe, however, she did.

“Está bien.” He said, holding his hands up to show her that his weapon was not in his hand. “Estas a salvo.”

Cora’s eyes drifted down to his pants, where his weapons belt hung on his waist. She, immediately, noticed his sword. He kept moving towards her, as slowly as he could. Cora backed up as soon as he reached the pillar, moving backward until her back hit another pillar. She let out a gasp, thinking it was a person. As quickly as she could, she looked over her shoulder to see what it was, then looked back at the man approaching her. She shook her head at him.

“I-I don’t – “

“You don’t speak Spanish.” He said, stopping in front of her. He put his hands down and tried to look as non-threatening as he could.

“I just said that you’re safe.”

Cora pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and made sure to never take her eyes off him.

“I won’t hurt you.”

The man, knowing that Cora wasn’t a threat and that she was, literally, backed into a corner, turned and grabbed a small, empty crate. He flipped it over and took a seat. He nodded his head towards the hammock she had been previously lying in.

“I promise, it’s okay.”

Cora stood against the wall until she mustered up enough courage to walk over to the hammock and slide back into it.

“I’m Officer Cortez and you are...?”

“I’m Cora An- “ She stopped before saying her last name. This man was a Spanish officer for the Spanish Navy, he was probably sent down there to get information out of her. If they found out that she was the daughter of Commodore Anson, she might be in serious trouble. Officer Cortez raised his brow at her, anticipating her next word.

“Anderson. Cora Anderson.”

Officer Cortez pursed his lips together and nodded.

“Well, Cora Anderson, as you’ve probably guessed by now, you’re on a Spanish galleon owned by the Spanish Navy.”

She nodded.

“Do you know how you got here?”

Again, she nodded. She remembered everything from the moment she stepped foot onto the British frigate to the moment she was saved by the Spaniards.

“Okay then. Can you tell me why you were on that ship and where it was heading?”

Cora shook her head.

“I don’t know anything or have any information that you’d want.”

The sound of boots of stairs filled the space again, causing her to jump up from the hammock. She moved back behind the pillar and watched as another Spanish officer joined Cortez. The new man gave Cora a rather nasty look as if he wanted to string her up right there and slowly peel the flesh from her body. Her father always said they were a savage bunch of inbreds. Cortez turned to the man and they exchanged words in their native tongue. The salty sailor looked at Cora again, before spitting on the floor in front of her. Cortez snapped at the man. It seemed as if the two were exchanging heated words, so Cora took that as her opportunity to run. She wasn’t going to allow them to fight over who was going to rape her first.

Cortez hopped up from the crate and pushed the other officer out of the way. Everything happened so fast that the other man seemed to be stunned for a moment. When he realized what was happening, he took off after Cora as well. However, she didn’t make it far. The small, wiry brunette got up three steps before one of them grabbed her around the waist. When he turned around to go back down the stairs, with Cora kicking and screaming, she knew it was Cortez who grabbed her. The other man went to grab her feet. Cora kicked out, hoping to connect with the other man's face but instead, caught his shoulder.

Cortez moved quickly, going over to the closest wall and pressing Cora to it. Her chest and cheek squished against the wall as Cortez pressed himself into her back. The other officer had been yelling in Spanish, either at Cora or Cortez or both. Cortez answered him back, repeating one phrase over and over until the other man left. Cora tried to struggle against him but Cortez was way too strong for her.

“Relax,” he said, breathlessly, into her ear. “Relax and I will let you go.”

Cora wouldn’t listen. Cortez was bigger than her, in height and build. The last thing she wanted to do was give in to someone that was, more than likely, going to harm her.

“This is a ship, so I’m not entirely sure where you thought you were going to run to.”

Damn, he was right.

“If you’re not afraid of losing me, then why not let me go?”

“Because I don’t want to fish you out of the water again.”

Cora stopped moving, which made Cortez back off her a bit. Having enough space, Cora decided to turn around and face him. Cora, for the first time, got a clear look at his face. His eyes were a fascinatingly dark brown, his face was smooth as if it was just freshly shaved. His lips were average and slightly wide, and his hair was black, having been worn in a fashion that was popular in the 18th century. Cora was half expecting it to be the same powered wigs that magistrates wore. Cora stood at 5 feet 4 inches and Office Cortez was almost a full head taller than her, which meant she needed to look up at him. She cleared her throat before speaking.

“You’re the one who saved me.”

“Yes.”

“Why?” Cora searched his eyes for an answer, as she waited for a verbal one. Cortez could have easily let her drown.

“I saw a woman in distress. I wasn’t going to just let you die.”

He turned on his heel and headed toward the stairs. He looked back at Cora and gave her a sly smirk.

“Even if you are British. Now come on, let’s get you some different clothes. I want my coat back.”

At that moment Cora remembered she was only in her corset, chemise and an officers’ coat. She looked down at herself and felt her cheeks begin to burn. Grabbing both sides of the coat, she pulled it close and folded her arms over her chest. It wasn’t until that moment that she started to question what she looked like. She could only imagine. Her hair was probably snarled and matted, and the makeup had most definitely washed off her face in the ocean.

Cora followed him up the stairs and once they got onto the top deck, she made sure her eyes were focused on his back. The crew aboard the ship was watching her. She could feel their eyes burning holes into her skin.

Cortez spoke to some crew members, probably giving them orders. They hadn’t worn the same uniform as him, so Cora had to assume they were lower on the totem pole than he was. Where they ranked, however, she was unsure of. Honestly, she didn’t even know if the Spanish Royal Navy used the same system as the British Royal Navy. It wasn’t as if her father had taught her about these sorts of things. On the contrary, he wanted her far away from the naval world. Unless, of course, it was marrying a well-off officer, just for prestige points.

“Where are we going?” Cora finally managed to squeak out.

Officer Cortez turned his head to look at her, only for a moment.

“The captain.”

She should have known. Cora kept quiet for the rest of the walk to the captains’ cabin. Officer Cortez opened the door to the cabin and stepped out of the way, allowing Cora to walk in first. Was he being a gentleman or was he making sure she didn’t try to run off and jump overboard? Definitely the latter.

“Captain Salazar, this is Cora Anderson.”

Cora dropped her arms and placed her hands in front of her, causing the officers' coat to open back up. She set her gaze to the floor, looking at her dirty legs and feet. She looked like a pig that had just had a romp in a mud pit.

“Ah, Cora Anderson. Welcome aboard.”

He nodded toward Officer Cortez, who moved to the door to leave.

“Thank you, Nico. Retrieve some different clothes for this woman. The cabin boys should have spares.”

Something was unnerving about how friendly these men were being. Maybe friendly wasn’t the correct term since their voices were very precise and pointed. They were, for lack of a better term, content. This wasn’t the type of treatment she was expecting to get but then again, she had just arrived on the ship. Who knew what the next few weeks, or maybe even months, would bring her? Maybe, just maybe, this was how the military conducted themselves when they wanted information from someone. The only thing that she knew for sure what that she was on a Spanish galleon, the crew didn’t like her, Officer Cortez is the one who saved her and his first name was Nico, and Captain Salazar looked like an intimidating man.

Captain Salazar stood up and moved around his desk, as he motioned for Cora to take a seat on the closest couch. Cora did as she was instructed and took a seat. He sat across from her on a chair, leaning back into it and crossing his legs. Cora took a moment to look around the cabin, noticing the size difference from the crew's quarters. That wasn’t surprising to her, considering Salazar was the captain. Captains always got better treatment. Inside the cabin was the couch she was sitting on, which was a deep red and felt like velvet. The chairs that Salazar occupied were made of the same material and color, each piece of furniture also has dark brown wood. Behind Salazar was a table with multiple chairs, Cora figured that was where he discussed his plans with his officers and lieutenant. Right now, it was full of different papers and a map. To her right was a small set of stairs that led up to his desk and his bed. Lamps danced around the room, but they were not needed during the day. Natural sunlight was able to fill the room during daylight hours, as windows had lined the upper part of the wall behind his desk.

“So, why were you on the British frigate? The HMS…?”

He was looking for the name of the ship to gather information on who she truly was. Did he know that she was lying about her name? Perhaps he already knew the ship's name and wanted to see if she would tell the truth? What would happen to her if she continued to lie?

“Bridgewater.” That wasn’t the ship. The Bridgewater was a 20 gun sixth-line ship of the Royal Navy. It capsized four months ago.

“HMS Bridgewater. Huh.”

A knock at the door interrupted his next sentence. Officer Cortez stepped inside, closing the door behind him.

“The cabin boys had clothes that would have been too small for her. This is an extra set of clothes from the cook.”

Salazar nodded at the man. He stood up, towering over Cora. He was a large man, in terms of height. He was half a head taller than Cortez.

“Officer Cortez will take you to get changed. I’m sure he wants his coat back, by now.”

“I may have mentioned it.” The men shared a laugh.

A moment later, Cortez and Cora left the great cabin and headed downstairs to the officers' cabins and quarterdeck. Cora had never been on a Spanish galleon but they seemed to share similar cabins. Cora half expected the officers to live in the crew quarters. She wasn’t entirely sure why, but maybe it was because of the things her father told her about the Spaniards.

_“Daddy, why are they bad?” Said a young, 8-year-old Cora._

_“They are dirty people. Savages. Completely uncivilized.” Her father sat at his desk, scribbling across papers. Surely, he was preparing for another adventure on the grand seas._

_“But, why? What do they do?” Cora was on her tip-toes, trying to look over the desk at her father._

_“Cora,” he started, placing his quill down, and looking at his daughter with a stern face. “There are two types of people in the world. The educated and civilized and the ones aren’t. The British and everyone else.”_  
_“So,” Cora rubbed at her eyes. “Only British people are educated and civ-civieized?”_

_“Ci-VIL-ized. And yes.”_

_“But mummy isn’t British.”_

_Her father sighed. “You’re right, she isn’t. But she was taught to be civilized after she married me.”_

_“But daddy…”_

_“Cora, go and play. I am quite busy.”_

Officer Cortez walked her through the officers' cabins and into the quarterdeck. He opened the door, to a small room that was in the shape of an L.

“This is the latrine used by the officers, lieutenant, and captain. You can change in here and use this as your latrine. However, you will be sleeping in the crew's quarters. And you’ll be eating with the crew.”

“Then why not use the crews' latrine?”

“Do you want them peeking at you through the door? If so, I can arrange that.”

His look was unwavering. It almost held no emotion at all. Cora shook her head, not wanting to have to use their latrines if it meant her safety being compromised. Not that it wasn’t already.

“Very well.” He stated, turning his back and heading out the door.

“I’ll be out here. When you’re done, I’ll show you the rest of the ship.”

It only took Cora a few minutes to get the clothing on. She hated it. It was itchy, uncomfortable and smelled like a combination of piss, shit, sweat, and dead fish. She grabbed the officers' coat from the bench and pulled open the door to reveal the back of Officer Cortez. He turned to look at her, taking his coat in his hand and pulling it on. Without exchanging words with her, he cocked his head to the side to begin her tour of the ship. He showed her only the essential places; the galley, the crews quarters, the gun deck, the lower gun deck and a place called the “lazaretto”. Officer Cortez had explained to Cora that it was a part of the ship they used as a quarantine for sick sailors. She had already seen the great cabin, where the captain stayed, as well as the officers cabins and the quarterdeck. The rest of the ship was all different cabins for holdings; livestock, alcohol, ammunition, weapons, etc.

“I’ve been assigned to watch over you, but I do have other duties that I need to attend to. When you aren’t with me, you can stay in the crews quarters.”

“Can’t I just come with you?”

Cortez raised his brow for a moment.

“I don’t see why not, just don’t get in the way. The first sign of you restricting me from my duties and I’ll send you below decks. Understand?”

“Yes,” Cora answered, sheepishly. Captain Salazar may have been the most intimidating man on the ship, but Cortez was right behind him. He was the only other man that she had interacted with and she was, to be quite honest, afraid to meet the others. If Cortez was this cold, she wondered how bad the others were. Then again, Cortez didn’t have any reason to be kind to her. She was a prisoner, so to speak, on this ship. She might as well be sleeping with the rats, the fact they were allowing her to sleep in the crews quarters was mercy enough.

A few hours later and Cora was in the galley, waiting for something to eat. The crew members gathered in a line and began to get their food from a large pot. Some sort of stew it seemed to be. Cortez was there, but he wouldn’t be eating that. He was going to be eating with the captain and the other officers. He was only there to make sure she got her food. The galley cook walked over with a bowl and placed it in front of her. Cora gave him a small nod of thanks.

“Eat up, you’ll need your strength.”

Cortez pushed himself off the wall and left. Cora was left alone with men that, she suspected, didn’t speak any English. There was one man, at the end of the table that kept staring at her, so Cora kept her eyes on the table and the meal in front of her, not wanting to give him or anybody else any attention. It made her feel uncomfortable, which in turn made her eat her food as fast as she could. Shoveling the stew into her mouth, she didn’t even taste it. That was until the heat began to kick in. Her tongue felt as if someone had pressed a red hot poker to it. She hopped up from the table, her mouth wide open and her hands frantically fanning it. The crew broke out in laughter as if they hadn’t just experienced the same pain as her.

The galley cook ran over to her, thrusting a beer into her hand. She took two large gulps of the amber liquid and swished around in her mouth. It helped a little but soon the pain was back. She ran to the nearest water cask and grabbed a cup. The water worked the same way the beer did, but at least she wouldn’t get drunk from it. Cora had about six cups of water before the heat in her mouth began to dissipate. The crew, much to her chagrin, had enjoyed the show. That was it. She was done for the evening. She didn’t want anything else to do with this damn ship or its inhabitants.


	3. Pain

The next few days had gone by without much excitement, which she was thankful for. She was given chores to do, but nothing that was exceedingly difficult and always in the sightline of Officer Cortez. Cora was pretty sure that the British didn’t make their prisoners do chores. They just threw them into the brig and forget about them. The sailors used to joke about how it was their own oubliette. To be honest, Cora always thought that type of thinking was quite cruel, then again the men they threw in there were, often, cruel.

“You’re done for the day?” 

Cora had been standing by the handrails on the upper deck, looking down at the pristine water. Every few minutes or so, she would see a small group of dolphins leap out. It seemed as if they were following the ship. She turned to look up at Officer Cortez and offered him a smile.  
“Yes. Sorry, I know I was supposed to let you know, I just got distracted by the sea.”

He studied her for a moment, as she turned back toward the water.

“Do they always do that?” 

“The dolphins? Sometimes. If they think we’ll be tossing food overboard, they’ll come begging.” 

Even in a time of enjoyment and relaxation, his voice seemed to be constricted and stern. Cora couldn’t help herself.

“And you… are you always this stoic?” 

Since they met, Cora was rather meek and not very loquacious, so her question took Cortez by surprise. When she spoke to him, she had only answered him in yes or no questions. She hadn’t even spoken to the captain in-depth, at least not yet. 

“I’m an Officer of the Spanish Royal Navy. What do you think?” He said, emphatically. Cora took that as her cue to stop asking questions.

“Sorry.” She said, sheepishly. 

Cortez looked toward her and wanted to let out a sigh, but he kept it in. Instead, he cleared his throat and told her that she needed to go and speak with Captain Salazar. He began walking to the great cabin with Cora in tow. The walk was short but it gave him a few minutes to really think about how he came off to people. Cora was a newcomer on the ship, and quite frankly, she wasn’t even supposed to be there. Nico, as an officer, saw his stoic, authoritative nature as a product of his career and his upbringing. His father was a military man, having also served in the Navy, so he grew up with a man that mirrored his personality. He figured that Cora would at least understand that, considering her father was also in the military. A commodore, none the less. But that lead him to question if her father was more animated, more open, and possibly less domineering. That would explain why she had asked that question.

They reached the great cabin and Cortez gave a knock onto the door, before hearing Captain Salazar call them in. Cora was directed toward the couch, a tactic to make her feel more comfortable. Cortez dismissed himself, as he had other duties that he had to attend to. Cora, nervously, watched him leave, closing the door behind him. Something about him leaving made her heart jump and her stomach drop. For the past few days, Officer Cortez had been by her side, aside from her eating, sleeping and using the latrine. She had found a strange secureness in his presence. She didn’t know if it was because he was the one that pulled her from the wreckage of the frigate or if it was because of his high standing rank on the galleon. 

“Cora Anderson,” Salazar began, taking a seat across from her. The scene was reminiscent of her first meeting with the captain. 

“We never did get to finish our conversation the last time you were in here.”

She had almost forgotten. Salazar had asked her what ship she was on and where it was going. She had only told him the name of a ship; a ship that no longer existed and one that she had never been on. That wasn’t the only lie she told, however. She had also lied to Office Cortez about her real name. She placed her hands into her lap, hoping to stop her legs from bouncing up and down. It was an obnoxious nervous habit that she had developed as a child. Cora feared and respected her father and anytime she got into trouble, her mother would send her to speak with him. The nervous feeling she got before being scolded is what caused the nervous habit to form. 

“So,” he continued. “What were you doing on the HMS Bridgewater?” 

Cora wrung her hands together. 

“Well, I was on my way to Port Royal to see my father.”

Salazar leaned back into this chair and crossed his legs.

“And what is your father doing there?”

Cora had been thinking about what story she was going to tell because she knew it was only a matter of time before she was asked again. 

“My father is the governor there. Newly appointed. Once he got set up there, he said he would send for me.” 

“Ah, I see.” Salazar studied her body language. The slight bouncing on her legs made him suspicious of her story, but he didn’t question it. 

“And the pirate ship that attacked you. Did they tell you who they were? Who the captain is?”

Cora closed her eyes at the thought of that day. A shiver shot down her spine and she felt her legs squeeze tighter together. 

“Yes,” she said, her eyes still closed. This interested Salazar, as he placed his foot back on the ground and leaned forward. 

“He said his name was Captain Cross. I don’t know the name of his ship though. After they set our ship ablaze, they began to leave. I was to busy trying not to drown or get eaten by sharks to have noticed.”

Salazar nodded. Cora opened her eyes just as Salazar was standing up. He walked over to the table that sat behind his chair. Cora watched him as he scanned over the papers that were scattered on top of it. He placed his finger onto the map and began to trace an imaginary line. 

“We must be on the right course then,” he said, more to himself than to Cora. 

He looked up at Cora, his eyes bright and full of vigor, very different from the last time she had seen them. 

“Miss Anderson, Captain Cross is who I’ve been hunting for the past few months. We were lead to believe that he was leaving the Caribbean to seek refuge in eastern seas. It seems we were lied to. With the information that you gave me, I think it’s safe to say that he is still lurking around here. Thank you.”

Salazar called for Lieutenant Lesaro to join him. When the man entered the cabin, he gave Cora a quick glance before joining the captain at his side. They combed over the map in front of them, quickly speaking back and forth to each other in Spanish. Cora continued to sit on the couch, not knowing what to do. Was she supposed to sit there and wait for Officer Cortez to retrieve her or was she allowed to leave? Not that it mattered, she didn’t have anywhere to go other than the crews quarters. 

Lesaro straightened up, nodded once to his captain and rushed outside. Salazar let out a single, hearty laugh and smacked the table. He didn’t look at Cora or say anything to her, he just smiled from ear to ear down at the map. 

Five minutes later, Lesaro returned with the other officers. Cortez bent down slightly, taking Cora by her arm and pulling her upwards. 

“Go down to the crews quarters, we’re having a meeting.” 

Cora opened her mouth to speak but didn’t get the chance to. She was, more or less, thrust out of the great cabin, the door shutting behind her. She pursed her lips and, not feeling she had much of a choice, decided to make her way down to the crew's quarters. She walked down the main staircase, only to meet the strange guy from the other day coming up them. Cora had noticed him constantly watching her, whether she was eating, doing chores or just standing by Cortez. Anytime she was in sight of him, he was watching her. It was like everywhere she turned, there was this man with dark eyes, dark hair, and a prominent, crooked nose.

She continued down the stairs, trying to keep her eyes forward and to ignore the man. Cora made it past him and breathed a sigh of relief. Not a moment later, she felt a hand over her mouth and an arm wrapped tightly around her chest, rendering her arms useless. The man squeezed Cora’s body up against him and lifted her up enough to carry her back up the stairs. Cora attempted to scream but the man's hand was pressed so tightly against her mouth that even muffles had a hard time escaping. She tried kicking her legs but she wasn’t able to connect with anything. The man moved up the stairs, backward, with her. He spoke in her ear but Cora had no clue what he was saying to her. It was most likely threats telling her to shut up. 

She wasn’t sure where he was bringing her until they reached the quarterdeck. She heard the door to the latrine open, making her breathing quickened. The man still had both of her hands on her, which meant that someone else was there. As the man brought her into the latrine, her eyes made contact with another man. He had been there waiting for them, and he was the one who opened the door. He followed in the crooked nose man and in his hand, he had some fabric. 

“Make noise. I kill.” He moved a finger across his own throat, as his dark eyes searched her face for understanding. Cora nodded, not seeing any way out of this predicament. The man with the crooked nose removed his hand from her mouth, as the other man grabbed her chin and forced her mouth open. He shoved the fabric in and tied the ends around the back of her head. He pulled it tight, catching bits of her hair in the fabric. She yelped out in pain but it was significantly muffled. 

A part of Cora wondered when this would happen, she had been expecting it ever since she was brought onto the ship. Was this the universes way of a joke? Captain Cross didn’t get the chance to rape her, thanks to James and his bravery. But now, here she was about to be raped by two different men in the latrine of the quarterdeck. Tears cascaded down her cheeks, which seemed to please, or even excite, the two Spanish sailors. Cora couldn’t speak but she still tried to say ‘no’, but she knew that wouldn’t stop them. This was a calculated plan and they were finally able to execute it. Officer Cortez, Cora’s bodyguard on the ship was having an important with Captain Salazar. She was alone. She was vulnerable. 

When Cora got a good look at the second man, the only thing she really noticed was the large mole above his right eye. He grabbed her, turned her around and secured her hands behind her back with another long piece of fabric. She was grabbed again and dragged over to the long seat that made up the latrine. At one end there was a hole in the wood, which was used as the toilet, but the rest of the bench was solid. The bench was used for the officers as another vantage point, or in a battle, the riflemen used it for sharpshooting. 

The one with the crooked nose ripped open her shirt, exposing her breasts. He wasted no time grabbing hold of them. Cora tried squirming out of his grip but his legs were tightly wrapped around her. The other man nodded to him and said something to him in Spanish before walking outside. Now she was alone with this creep. He pressed his lips to the side of her neck, sucking and licking her alabaster skin. The feel of his hands on her body made her want to throw up. All she could do to escape her nightmare was to close her eyes. 

He moved, getting up from behind her and moving to the front. He pushed her back and got to work on removing her pants. Cora could have used that opportunity to kick him in the face but she knew if she tried to hurt him, both men would murder her. The pants were, finally, removed and tossed to the side. The man had just taken a small knife and cut them off of her, knowing that he needed to move fast. He or his accomplice had no idea how long the officers would be in there meeting, or if someone was going to wonder where they were hiding. 

Cora was, now, completely naked. She screamed against the gag in her mouth, knowing the worst hadn’t even started yet and that this was just the first man. He moved on top of her, his hand between her legs. Unlike Captain Cross, he wasn’t gentle; he thrust his fingers into her, making her screams all the louder. He seemed to just be prepping her, making sure she was wet enough to penetrate her. It was no shock that she wasn’t, not to Cora at least. He pulled his fingers out, and with his eyes fixed on her face, he spit into his hand and lubricated his hardened shaft. 

He thrust himself in Cora so hard that her head hit the wall behind her. He took joy in seeing her tears and hearing her whimper. The more she did it, the more he pumped in and out of her. He moved his face close to her and placed a kiss against her lips. It wasn’t satisfying enough though. He needed to fully feel her lips and the fabric that was gagging her was getting in the way. The man reached behind her head, untying the fabric and ripping it from her mouth. He didn’t give her a second to react, as he crashed his lips into hers once again, this time sliding his tongue into her mouth. When he broke away from her, Cora made a split-second decision to scream. She knew that he could kill her in an instant but she didn’t care. She would have rather died than let him continue to have his way with her. 

Cora’s screams were loud and constant. The man tried to place his hand over her mouth again but she squirmed away, turning onto her side. Her head hung off the bench, as she continued to scream, her throat getting rawer by the second. That’s when she heard it; the sound of boots stampeding toward the quarterdeck. Loud voices, all yelling in Spanish were super close and a moment later, the man outside the door was pushed up against the wall opposite of the door. The man with the crooked nose was ripped off of Cora and the fabric binding her arms behind her was cut. Cora scrambled on the bench, pressing herself into the corner, her head tucked down and her arms brought over her head. She was trying to make herself as small as she could. 

“Clap them in irons and get them out of here!” Officer Cortez’s deep, booming voice was close to Cora. 

He shrugged off his coat, upon discovering the naked woman, and draped it over her. The feeling of the fabric against her bare skin caused her to scream again. Her brain was going a mile a minute and she wasn’t fully sure whether or not she was safe. Cortez crouched down next to her. 

“Cora.” He said, softening his voice. He watched as the girl, slowly, began to rock back and forth. It was clear to him and the remaining officers in the room that she was in full distress and how could she not be? 

“It’s okay. You’re safe. They’re gone.” 

He reached out to touch her and as soon as the tips of his fingers touched her, she tried to retreat farther away from him, even though she had nowhere to go. Cora wanted to trust him, but to her, he had left her alone and she was harmed. Then there was a part of her brain that was telling her to this wasn’t his fault, he had left her alone numerous times and she was fine. 

Cortez reached out to her again, this time she allowed him to make contact. He stood up, bent down and swiftly scooped her up, being careful to not expose her body to anyone else. He rushed by Officer Moss and Officer Santos to bring her to the officers' cabins. Santos moved quickly, getting in front of him and opening the door to allow him easier access. Cortez placed Cora down onto a cushioned bench against the back wall. It was lined with three windows, allowing for natural sunlight to fill Nico’s cabin. He was luckiest enough to have the last cabin, which offered him the best lighting. 

Cora retracted back into herself, moving into the same position she was in in the latrine. Cortez frowned down at her. In his mind, this was his fault. In his mind, he should have seen some sort of warning sign. He, however, never thought one of the men that he sailed with would ever act that atrociously. 

Captain Salazar and Lieutenant Lesaro appeared in the doorway. Salazar’s eyes set on a coatless Nico before his gaze fell onto the abused woman. The look of concern dropped his face, replacing it with a look of disappointment. He turned his head to Lesaro and spoke to him, softly, in Spanish. 

“Nico, come up to the great cabin. Lock this door behind you.” 

He gave one last look to Cora before he turned on his heel and left. Nico walked over to Cora and kneeled down. 

“I need to go and speak with the captain. I’m going to lock you in here. You’ll be safe.” 

Cora lifted her head, her eyes wide and bewildered. She reached out and grabbed his arm, gripping the fabric of his shirt. Her head shook wildly from side to side.  
“No, no, no, no.” 

Cortez had to pry her hand off of him before he could stand back up. 

“I promise you, you’ll be safe. I am the only one with the key to this room. I’ll knock before coming back in here.” 

There was no way that Cora could argue with him. He was going to leave her in there regardless if she agreed to it or not. Maybe he was right though. If he was the only one with the key, then perhaps she was truly safe in here. 

“I’ll send someone to get you more clothes until then, keep that on.” He said, motioning to his coat. 

Cortez walked out outside and locked the door behind him. He pressed his forehead to the door and let out of a long sigh. There was a slew of thoughts and emotions that ran through him but he didn’t have the time to sort them out right now. He needed to get upstairs and speak with Salazar. 

When he got into the great cabin, he was met with looks from the other officers. Salazar motioned for them to all take a seat at the table. They needed to discuss what to do with the girl. 

“It’s clear to me that having her on this ship is a problem, but we need a plan to keep her safe until we dock at port.” Salazar placed his hands in front of him, as he addressed his men. 

“Capitan, with all due respect, this isn’t the girl's fault.” Office Santos looked to Salazar and shrugged. 

“I know it isn’t, but with her on board, she is a liability. I, now, have two men sitting in the brig because she’s here.”

“Because she’s here and God forbid those two fucking idiots go another week without shoving their cocks into something.” Cortez narrowed his eyes and shook his head. He was angry that these men, who represented the Spanish Royal Navy, could do something like that to an innocent woman. 

Officer Magda cut his eyes at Cortez. He let out a very nasal huff, as he shook his head. 

“Should have just let her fucking drown.”

“So what are we going to do about this woman? We’re at least two weeks away from port.” Lesaro looked to Captain Salazar, who in turn, looked back up at him.

“We were in the middle of finding Captain Cross when this woman became a problem for us. If she’s valuable I say we keep her locked in Cortez’s cabin.” Magda leaned back in his chair and shrugged. He had a smug look on his face that, for the first time ever, Cortez wanted to slap off. 

“Just keep her locked in there, without fresh air, without any other human contact besides myself?” 

“Shouldn’t bother you, since you’ve seen to grow accustomed to her being at your hip.” 

“And what the fuck is that supposed to be mean? I was appointed to watch over her from our captain. It wasn’t my choice to have her by my side. I was doing my duty, something that you should understand. ” 

Officer Santos cleared his throat and said Nico’s name under his breath. Nico shot him a look and while he appreciated his best friend trying to stop him, he couldn’t. 

“Then my original statement stands. You should have just let her drown, she’s fucking British, she doesn’t mean anything to us!” 

Cortez stood up and leaned over the table. 

“It doesn’t matter if she’s British, Spanish or fucking French! All I saw was a woman in distress and I rescued her! String me up in front of the fucking magistrate if that’s so wrong!”

Salazar banged his fist on the table and barked at Cortez to sit down. Nico apologized for his actions, not meaning to offend or upset the captain. 

“I understand why you saved that girl and I commend you for it.” Nico nodded at him before Salazar turned his attention to Magda. He explained that he had reason to believe she was lying about who she truly was. He told the men that, while, it may have sounded silly, her legs bouncing up and down had caused him some alarm. He explained how she seemed nervous, even though the story that she told flowed out of her mouth. It didn’t, however, seem natural. It seemed rehearsed. 

Nico then piped up and explained that he had thought the same thing. 

“When she had told me her last name, she hesitated, as if she didn’t want me knowing what her true identity was. I, honestly, didn’t think about it again until now. I threw it away as her just being nervous.” 

When everything was said and done, it was decided to Cora would stay in Nico’s cabins, under his full supervision. When he wasn’t making his rounds and attending his duties, he would be in his cabin with her. Salazar decided to turn the ship around and stop pursuing Captain Cross until they got Cora back to their port. 

Cora hadn’t moved from the bench in Nico’s cabin since he left. She did, however, get into a new position. She sat up, Nico’s coat wrapped tightly around her, as she waited for his return. Her eyes wandered around the room and she instantly noticed the small bookshelf, set into the wall, filled with books. She got up from the bench and walked over to it. Her bare feet felt nice on the carpet that he had placed in there. She was becoming so used to feeling the wood in the crews' quarters, she hardly took off the shoes she was given. Cora picked up a book, examining the cover. Unfortunately, it was in Spanish, so there was no way she would be able to read it. She didn’t get the chance to look at another book, because a knock came at the door. Hurriedly, she shoved the book back into its place and ran back over to the bench. 

Cortez poked his head in and saw Cora exactly where he left her. Cora brought her knees up to her chest, as Cortez fully entered the room. In his hands, he had some new clothes for her. She didn’t know what sailor had to give up their uniform, but she was thankful for it. He placed the clothes onto his bed and told her he would be back in a moment so that she could get changed. Cora slipped on the clothes and called for Cortez to come back in. She headed him his coat, her eyes fixed on the floor. When it took the garment from her, she turned and headed back to the bench. Cortez took a seat onto the side of his bed and hunched over. His elbows rested on his knees, as he brought his hands up into a triangle and rested his forehead against his fingertips. Cora watched him, quietly. 

“Cora, I’m sorry. I never meant for that to happen.” He said, after a few minutes of silence. 

She didn’t say anything, just continued to watch him. Cortez had had his eyes closed, but he opened them and turned his head slightly, forehead still pressed to his fingertips. The gaze from his chocolate eyes met the gaze of Cora’s emerald ones. 

“Please say something.” 

It took her moment. “There’s nothing to be said really. I was raped by one of your men. Would have been two had you not heard me screaming.”

Cortez sucked in a breath. He didn’t even know how to respond to that, other than to tell her, again, that he was sorry. To be honest, that bothered him. He hated that a simple ‘sorry’ would never be good enough, considering what he just happened to her. Within the next few days, he knew that she would have to come to terms with it and he wasn’t even sure how he would respond to that. Right now, she was calm and collected but that was due to shock. That much he knew. 

That calm was short-lived. Her face twisted and scrunched up and her legs began to bounce. Cora bit her bottom lip before bringing her hands to her face and letting the floodgates open. The entire time she was sitting in Cortez’s cabin, she was trying to think of anything she could that wasn’t her being raped. Now that was back in the presence of the man that saved her, now for the second time, she lost her nerve. 

Cortez was acting on instinct when he jumped up and ran over to her. He comforted her the way he would any woman that he felt he needed to protect. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into him. Cora fought against him for a moment, but once she realized he wasn’t going to hurt her, she let him comfort her. 

“It’s okay… it’s okay.” Cortez gently rocked her back and forth, repeating that mantra to her. It was the only thing he could think to do to help her at that moment, but he knew that this wasn’t okay and she wasn’t okay. He wasn’t prepared or trained for this type of thing. Cortez was used to being a stoic, authoritative force on this ship, not a caregiver for a woman who just went through a traumatic experience. The two of them stayed in that position until she finally calmed down and eventually fell asleep. Cortez gently placed her down onto the bench and covered her with his blanket. Tonight he’d use his to keep warm, which he was okay with. As long as Cora was comfortable and safe, he didn’t really care. 


	4. Locked Away

The next morning when Cortez woke up, he looked over to Cora, who was sitting up on the bench. Her legs were folded under her, criss-cross style and his blanket was draped around her shoulders. First light had barely broken and she was already awake. He wondered if she always woke up this early or if she had had trouble sleeping after he passed out. In her hands was a book, that she wasn’t actually reading. She was just skimming through the pages, her eyes moving wildly over the text. Cortez recognized the cover and knew that the book was in Spanish. He raised a brow at her. 

“If you like to read, I have books in English.” 

He got up from the cot, still dressed in his clothes from the night before. Cora watched him, questioning when he had fallen asleep and why he hadn’t changed. He squatted down in front of the small bookshelf and pulled out one of the books. When he stood back up, he walked over to Cora and held it out for her. Cora took the book and examined the cover of it. She knew the book well, as a matter of fact, it was one of her favorites. 

“Gulliver’s Travels.” 

“Yes, it…helped me learn English. One of the easier books for me to read.” Cora looked up at him and flashed him a genuine smile. Something was endearing about him using British literature to learn English, even when his country was in the throes of war with hers. 

“I won’t hold that against you. It’s a fantastic book. One of my favorites, actually.” 

“Oh?” This piqued his interest. He made a mental note that Cora liked to shove her nose into books and that worlds of fantasy were on the top of her list. 

“I like taking a break from the struggles of the real world and getting lost in a world of whimsy.” 

This piqued his interest. He made a mental note that Cora liked to shove her nose into books and that worlds of fantasy were on the top of her list. Cora pointed at the bookshelf and smirked.

“I couldn’t help but notice that you also have French titles in there. Do you speak French as well?”

“Sort of. Uh, I’m in the process of learning it. Or trying to. No one else on this ship speaks it. Capitan only speaks very little.” 

Cora placed the book in her lap. She cocked her head to the side and shrugged her shoulders.

“I speak French. I could teach you.”

Cortez narrowed his eyes at her, in confusion. The British and the French hated each other, which made him question why she knew the language. 

“And how do you know French?”

Cora let out a small laugh. 

“I could see the wheels turning in your head. Brits and French, not so friendly with one another.”

She shrugged again. 

“My father values education. While he believes that a woman's place is by her husband's side and to keep quiet, he also thinks they should be educated. Naturally, he wanted me to learn another language and he gave me the option of French, Italian, and Spanish.”

Cortez had crossed his legs and rested his elbows onto his legs. He would need to make some more mental notes about this woman. This could all be information that the Captain could use. 

“I’m thinking I probably should have taken up Spanish.” She said with a laugh. She gripped the top edge of the book in her hands and bounced one leg up and down. 

“Is there anything else he made you learn?” Cortez asked, genuinely interested.

“Yes. He made me learn how to play the piano. I, also, took an interest in the violin, so he made me learn that too. I’m better at the violin than the piano.” She said, with a shrug. 

“And you?” 

“There’s not much really. My father was in the navy, as well as his father before him. Um, I can speak English and that’s about it.” 

Cora knew he was keeping information from her but it didn’t matter. She was only trying to make small talk. She pursed her lips together. Even if she wanted to ask him more questions, she decided not to. She didn’t want to push it. 

“Well, you are exceedingly fascinating, aren’t you?” 

Cortez ignored the snarky remark, as he stood up and moved to the door. He needed to get to breakfast with the other officers and with Cora not being able to sit with the crew, he needed to bring her food as well. He told Cora to wait there, as we went to get her something. Before he went down to the galley, he decided to stop in the great cabin to let the others know he would be up soon. The officers were gathered around the table, with Salazar sitting at the head, as usual. The table that had, normally, had maps and other papers strewn all over it, was now clear with settings for each officer. 

“Ah, Nico, sit,” Salazar said as he moved around his chair and sat down. He motioned to a setting for Cortez, but he shook his head. 

“I just wanted to let you know that I’ll be a little late. I need to get food for Cora.”

Magda gave Cortez an aggravated look as he sat down. Cortez just ignored it. He didn’t have the energy to deal with his attitude today. 

“As discussed yesterday, she isn’t allowed out of my sight. Therefore, she can’t go down to the galley and eat without me being right there.”

Santos walked behind him, making his way to his seat and clapped him on the shoulder. 

“Ah, and you’re too good to sit in the crews’ quarters, princess?” 

With a playful roll of his eyes, he told Santos to shut up. Santos grinned, as he took his seat at the table. The two men had been best friends for years and it was just by luck that they had been placed on the same ship. Cortez liked the other officers’ but he didn’t share the same connection with them, as he did Santos. 

“I just don’t think Cora will be comfortable sitting around all those men. I’m sure word has already spread at to what happened to her. I wanted to save her from that embarrassment.” 

“She probably wouldn’t want to sit in here, either, Capitan. At least not yet.” Lesaro, an officer who had a missing eye covered with a patch, looked to Salazar. The captain nodded in agreement before he reached over and handed him Cortez’s plate, telling him to get the girl some food. The ships cook would be in soon with their food. When the man entered the room, he was stunned that Cortez helped himself to the cart, before scurrying out. He was supposed to serve the men, the men never served themselves. He watched Cortez leave and then looked to the captain. Salazar just raised a dismissive hand, told him to get another plate and to continue serving them their breakfast.

Cortez returned to his cabin and opened the door. Cora was still sitting on the bench, reading the book he had given her. He walked over to the small desk and placed the plate on top of it. Cora got up and moved to the desk. Before she could pull out the chair, Cortez had pulled it out for her. When she sat down, he pushed the chair in. Cora looked up at him and raised her brows.

“Aren’t you a gentleman?” 

Cortez let out an amused nasally huff and nodded. 

“Yes, well, I was taught manners.”

“Hmm. Shocking.” 

Cortez narrowed his eyes, slightly, not sure what she meant by that comment. But he suspected that she had taken issue with his race. To be honest, he wasn’t surprised by it. The British and Spanish had been at war for some time and both sides thought quite negatively about the other. Racism was bound to happen and Cortez was certain that her father had helped place those thoughts into her head. From what she told him earlier, he seemed like a difficult man to live with.

“So, no gruel this morning?” Cora said, looking down at the plate and seeing some sausage, some sort of biscuit and what looked to be some wine.

“Perks of being an officer,” he started, looking down at the small, pale, brunette. “I could go to the galley and get you some ‘gruel’, as you call it.”

Cora bit her bottom lip and shook her head. 

“That’s what I figured.” 

Cortez excused himself a moment later and rejoined the officers’ upstairs. Cortez enjoyed breakfast with the men, as he did every morning. They all sat around and joked through mouthfuls of food. At some point, Salazar informed Cortez they would be heading back to Cartagena to drop Cora off, as well as get more supplies. 

“We are still going after that damn pirate, boys. But first, we need to get rid of the extra baggage.” 

“Where is she going to stay?” Santos looked from Cortez to Salazar. 

Salazar looked to Cortez, cocking his head to the side. 

“She can stay at your house with Isabella, can’t she?” 

Moss let out a loud laugh, throwing his head backward. 

“Let her stay alone with Isabella? Do you want the girl to live or die, Capitan?”

Salazar couldn’t help but laugh as well. Cortez stayed silent and shot Santos a look. 

“She can’t stay there. You’re not married. Let her stay in your home.”

“You’re not married, either.” He shot back. 

“Not yet, and if Isabella learns that I’ve had a woman sleeping in my cabin, she’ll go ballistic. Cora won’t be the only one that’s dead.” 

Lesaro began to pick up on the laughter from Salazar and Moss. Every man in that room knew how Cortez’s fiancée was; extremely jealous and opinionated. Cortez wasn’t lying when he said she would lose her mind over Cora, even if there was absolutely nothing romantic happening between the two. Isabella didn’t want anyone near the man she loved. Salazar pointed out that many men on ships had a woman that they cozied up to on long voyages. Even Salazar had a bit of skirt on the side. Cortez wasn’t like that though, he was fully capable of holding himself over until he made it back to port. That’s not to say that in his youth he didn’t bag as many women as he could. 

Salazar held up his wine glass and smirked. 

“To wives and to sweethearts,” He nodded to the men, who chanted the phrase after him. 

“May they never meet.” He finished with a laugh. 

“She’s not even a sweetheart, Capitan. Just a ward in my protection.” 

“Isabella won’t see it like that,” Magda stated, taking a sip from his glass and placing it back on the table. He and Cortez seemed to be on better terms this morning. 

“I know. Which is why…” He looked back at Santos, making the saddest fake expression he could. 

Santos had his glass tipped to his face when he saw Cortez looking at him. He placed the glass down, not even getting a taste of the sweet nectar inside. 

“Oh, for fuck's sake! Fine. She can stay at my house.” 

He picked up the glass and took a quick sip. 

“She can be my sweetheart.” 

Cortez laughed, backhanding the man next to him in the arm. He knew he was joking but he needed to make something clear.

“Leave her alone. She’s been through enough. Besides, she wouldn’t want to wake up to that ugly face every single day.” 

The men finished their breakfast, all the while joking with each other and figuring out what the day would bring. Cortez had his normal duties and a few special things he had to get finished. ‘Special’ wasn’t the best word to use, it was really just a letter he needed to write and send out to Isabella. It would take them a few weeks to get back to port and they would be stopping a small port to refit before heading back to Cartagena. Salazar was more than ready to continue looking for the pirate captain, Cross until the ordeal with Cora happened. He wasn’t ignorant of the fact that it could happen but he was expecting more from his crew. 

Cortez returned to his cabin and noted the empty plate and glass on the desk, but no Cora. A moment of panic overtook him, as he realized that he hadn’t locked the door when he left. Just as he turned around, Cora walked smack into his chest. Cortez grabbed her arms and held her back a bit, to get a look at her and her body. Nothing seemed to be askew. 

“I-I’m sorry. I needed to use the latrine and I couldn’t wait for you any longer.” 

“No, no, that’s fine. I’m sorry. I –“ Cortez shook his head and forced a smile. 

“It’s fine. You’re all right?”

“Yes.” Cora moved past him and sat on the chair to his desk. 

“No, I mean, are you all right?” Cortez sat down on the edge of his bed, facing Cora. 

“Well, no. But I needed to go and I have nowhere else to go and I won’t go to the crews' latrine.” Cortez nodded, he could understand why she didn’t want to. It was an easy way to harm her again. 

“I’ll be fine if I don’t think about it.” 

Cora got up and moved to the bench. She picked up the book and flipped to where she had left off. Cortez watched her turn away from him and get buried into the novel. He frowned, wanting to be able to say something positive to her but he didn’t know what he could possibly say. Honestly, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that there were no words that could eve make her feel better. Actions would matter more. 

Cortez decided now would be a good time to write to Isabella, right before his chores. He pulled out a vial of ink and a quill and began to scribble onto some paper. Cora’s ears perked up at the sound, causing her to turn her head. 

“I’ve always loved the sound of a quill scribbling on parchment.” 

She sat up and turned towards him, placing the book into her lap. Cortez had given her a side glance before he returned to writing. 

“Is that something you enjoy?” He said, finally, when he redipped his quill. 

“I do,” Cora stated. “I had a diary on the … Bridgewater that was lost.” 

Cora stumbled, having taken a moment to remember that name of the ship she used. Cortez stopped writing and looked straight ahead. He had caught the pause. Cora cleared her throat and opened up the book again. Cortez, not wanting her to clam up again, grabbed a journal that he hardly used from a drawer in the desk. 

“If you want a new one, you’re more than welcome to have this. I never use it.” 

He held out the journal for Cora to take and she obliged. She stood up, taking it from his hand, her fingers grazing his skin when she did. Her cheeks flushed at the contact, and she tried not to acknowledge it as she scurried back over to the bench. Cora opened the journal up and saw a few pages that had been written on. Wanting to respect the privacy of Officer Cortez, she ignored them and closed the book. 

“Thank you. That was …really nice of you.” Cora smiled at him, as he went back to writing. He made a mental note to gather more information about the ship she was on. Sooner or later, she was going to slip up. 

“So is there anything else I should know about you? You’re bilingual, good at playing the piano and violin.” 

A small laugh escaped past Cora’s lips. 

“I may play them but I never said I was good at them. My father couldn’t stand the noise I was making, so I can really only play basic notes. I’m not Mozart.” 

“And what about writing?”

“I suppose I’m decent. I’m not really sure though, I’ve never let anyone read my scribblings.” 

Cortez placed his quill down and turned towards Cora once again.   
“Anything else?” 

With a shrug and a nod of her head, Cora told him no. She really wasn’t that interesting of a person. For her, this is how all high society people were. Educated and civil. That’s how her father liked it and that’s how everyone was. At least out in public. 

Cortez gave her a shrug back and turned back to his parchment. Cora wanted to ask what he was writing but it was really none of her business. She returned to her book and remained quiet until Cortez was finished. About fifteen minutes later, he got up from his chair and put on his hat. 

“So, you have two choices. You can stay here and continue doing what you’re doing. Or you can come with me on my rounds and help with my duties for the day.” 

Cora bit her bottom lip, trying to quickly decide what she wanted to do. She wasn’t ready to venture out of this cabin unless it was to use the restroom. 

“I’ll stay here.” 

Cortez nodded, dropping the key to the cabin onto the desk. 

“Lock the door behind me. Be careful when going to the latrine. I’ll check on you periodically through the day, in case you’d rather have me accompany you.” 

Cora gave him a nod, acknowledging that she understood. Without another word, Cortez left and Cora got up to lock the door. She went back to the bench and got lost in her book. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Threw in another reference to "Master and Commander." You guys will see a lot of small nods to different works in this story. If you catch them, I hope they put a smile on your face.
> 
> Also, please visit 'coraansondiary' on Tumblr for an interactive experience!


	5. The Dam Breaks

It didn’t take long for Cora to get through “Gulliver’s Travel” and once again, she was back at Cortez’s bookshelf looking for something of interest to read. Cora sat in front of it, pulling out books, hoping to find another one in English. Cortez had said there was more, but she was beginning to think he was lying, or mistaken. On the floor next to her, were a few books in French, mostly by Voltaire. Cora had passed by the “History of Charles XII”, if she got desperate she would go back to it. Most of the books next to her were by Shakespeare. Now it made sense that Cortez thought “Gulliver’s Travel” was an easy read, not to say that it was difficult, to begin with. Shakespeare, however, was quite difficult for English speakers to grasp, so when this man was learning English, he probably wanted to tear his onyx colored hair out. 

As Cora sat there going through the books, she began to hum a song to herself. A song that she had heard many times over the years, from her fathers' various dinner parties with his seafaring friends. That humming turned into singing, as she flipped the book in her hands over and skimmed the back. 

_‘Farewell and adieu to you, Spanish Ladies_

_Farewell and adieu to you, ladies of Spain;_

_For we've received orders for to sail for old England_

_But we hope in a short time to see you again_

_We will rant and we'll roar like true British sailors_

_We'll rant and we'll roar all on the salt seas_

_Until we strike soundings in the channel of old England;_

_From Ushant to Scilly is thirty-five leagues…’_

Cora hadn’t heard Cortez come in, so when she turned her head and saw boots by the door, she screamed. Dropping her book, she scrambled backward and pressed her back against the cushioned bench that had become her bed. Cortez dropped his keys onto the desk and put his hands up. 

“I’m sorry! I knocked but I guess you didn’t hear me.” 

Cora let her head fall backward, as she grasped at her chest. Her heart was pounding so loud that she could hear it in her ears. Cortez removed his hat and coat, hanging them up on a hook by his cot. He took a seat on his bed and gazed down at the floor, to the pile of books. He wanted to give her a minute to compose herself. Cortez hadn’t spoken to her about her ordeal and he didn’t think he should. When she was ready, maybe she would come to him and open up. Right now, he was just happy that she wasn’t sitting in the corner, being mute. 

“You’re a fascinating woman.” 

Cora narrowed her eyes and lifted her head up. Her breathing was beginning to calm down. Cortez noted the confused look on her face and cleared his throat.

“I just mean that you also seem to be a singer, on top of everything else.” 

“Oh,” she started, shaking her head. “No. Not really, I just sing sometimes. It’s something I enjoy but it’s not something that I’m good at.” 

Cortez shrugged before he leaned forward and placed his elbows onto his knees. His signature style of sitting. 

“I beg to differ. You have a very beautiful voice. Muy hermosa.” 

Cora felt her cheeks grow hot and her eyes get wide. If there was a mirror in here, she was certain that she was as red as a hot poker. Not just her cheeks either, but her entire face, including her ears. She could almost guarantee that her chest and arms were red too. Cora had no idea what he said in Spanish but what he said in English was enough to make her body react. Damn her pale skin for giving away her embarrassment. She cleared her throat and stood up to grab a book off the floor. Still not knowing which one she wanted to dive into, she sat back down in front of the bookshelf. She was close to Cortez that his knee was barely resting against her shoulder.

Cora picked up one of Shakespeare’s work, pursing her lips. ‘King Lear’ was a story that she had read at least a hundred times. As a matter of fact, she read most of Shakespeare’s works hundreds of times. To say he was her favorite writer would be an understatement. 

“Let me guess, Romeo and Juliet is your favorite?” 

Cortez smirked down at her, noting the cocky way she turned her head up to him and rolled her eyes. That story seemed to be a favorite amongst the hopeless romantics of the world. Cortez found it rather lacking and quite predictable. Two star-crossed lovers from opposing houses, what absolute nonsense. In Cortez’s world, having a love affair with an opposing force was a good way to get you killed. It’s probably why he settled for Isabella and their arrangement. 

“Actually, my favorite is "Twelfth Night."” 

Cortez lifted a hand, signaling confusion, as he also raised a single shoulder. Letting out a sigh, Cora stood up and took a seat on the bed next to him. Cortez didn’t have “Twelfth Night”, which is why he didn’t know what it was about, which meant she was going to have to tell him all about it. And that’s exactly what she did. Cora talked about the story for almost an hour, going over the intricacies of each character, the engaging plot and the beautiful sceneries. Cortez listened to her, intently. He wasn’t sure if he liked the tale she was telling or the enticing sound of her voice. He wasn’t lying when he told her it was beautiful, but she didn’t know that he also meant it when she wasn’t singing. 

Actually, that wasn’t the only thing about her that he found to be beautiful. Her flowing, chocolate hair, her eyes that looked like jade or emeralds, and her milky skin. Cortez closed his eyes and shook his head, shaking out the thoughts that were currently invading his mind. Cora hadn’t noticed that he was no longer paying attention to her retelling of “Twelfth Night”. He had a woman back in Cartagena waiting for him, he couldn’t entertain the idea of a different woman. A part of him wondered if this was Salazar’s fault, putting the thought into his head about ‘wives and sweethearts’. The thoughts were starting to come back. 

Suddenly, Cortez stood up and walked to the middle of the room. Cora looked up at him, relatively shocked at the unexpected movement. He placed his hand to his forehead, looking rather distressed. 

“Um… you should read “Don Quixote”, I think you’d like it.” 

“Well,” she started, somewhat confused. “I would but it’s in Spanish.” 

“Right.” He said, stealing a side glance at her. 

“Are you all right, Officer Cortez?” She asked, her brow furrowed. 

“Sí, I’m fine.” His voice was constricted and not at all like him. The normally stoic man was acting strange and Cora couldn’t seem to understand why. She watched as he moved to the door and said he was going to grab her some dinner. Before Cora could say anything, Cortez left the room, leaving her with her thoughts and her book. 

Cortez stood outside the door for a moment and shook his head. 

“Get it together, Cortez…Get it together.” He rubbed his forehead with his hand and let out a long sigh. 

“You okay?” Santos was coming out of his cabin, assumably heading to dinner as well. 

“Yeah, I’m fine, Antonio.” He gave his friend a small smile, before walking with him to the great cabin. 

“I’m just going to get Cora some food and then I’ll join you guys.” 

Cortez never entered. Instead, he waited for the ships' cook to get there, stopping him from going inside. He grabbed Cora her food and brought it to her. When he reentered his room, Cora was still sitting on his bed. Her legs were stretched out in front of her, her ankles peeking out from the pants she wore. She had put her hair up into a rather messy looking fontage. Or at least something that tried to resemble it. She smiled at him when he entered and Cortez noted how her eyes seemed to smile as well. 

“Thank you, Officer Cortez.”

“You know, you can call me Nico.”

“I know, but it feels too informal. I tried it once or twice, I can’t remember … and it just didn’t seem right to me.” 

Cortez nodded before bidding her a farewell. He left the keys with her and headed off to the great cabin. 

Cora ate her breakfast rather quickly, wanting to get back to her book. When she was finished, however, she had a change of heart. She decided to write in the journal again. She had written in it the night before and wanted to feel the exhilarating chill she got when the quill hit the paper. She got up from the desk, walked to the bench and grabbed the journal from one of the small windows ledges. She opened it up to the very first page and saw four words written at the top.

_Property of Nico Cortez_

Cora took the quill and made a single line through his name and added her name, directly under it. Her real name. If this was her journal, she was going to make the most of it and it didn’t make sense to have Cortez’s name in it. The quill scribbled across the page as she got all of her thoughts and emotions out. Her first entry touched on what had happened to her but it didn’t go into detail. If she wanted to survive and be strong, she needed to face the demon head-on. For days, Cora had been holding in her emotions, pushing the thought of what happened to her in the back of her mind. It was festering there, in the deepest, darkest recesses. She had had a few nightmares, none of which Cortez knew about. She was thankful that she wasn’t a vocal dreamer. 

A shiver traveled from her shoulders down to her toes as she wrote about her experience. She recalled the smell of sweat and alcohol that was on the man with the crooked nose. When he smiled down at her, with his sinister face, she saw a few missing teeth. His breath was hot on her neck. Cora shook as she wrote and she felt her leg started bouncing. She sucked in a deep breath, trying to keep her nerves under control. All she wanted to do what confront this before Cortez got back. She didn’t want him to see her upset and vulnerable. Cora refused to be a victim on this ship again.

It took her quite some time to get through writing out her trauma. Her eyes were glued to the last page, as her mind went over the events again. Cora questioned whether this was something she would ever get over. A huge part of her wanted to sit in a tub, filled with the hottest water possible and scrub all of her skin off. It seemed like having new skin would make her feel better because that skin wouldn’t have been touched by that monster and his accomplice. That wasn’t an option though, she was on a ship. Cora knew that wouldn’t actually fix the problem. The issue was in her brain and there was no foreseeable way for her to get rid of it. 

Cora sighed, placing the quill down and closing the journal. A knock came at the door and she got up to answer it. Cortez stood there next to the galley cook. The man held out his hand for the plate, which Cora gave to him. 

“Hope it good.” He said in his very thick accent. It was clear that really only the officers spoke English, or at least enough English to understand and communicate with Cora. She smiled at the man and nodded her head. 

“Si,” she said. That was the extent of her knowledge of Spanish. It seemed to be enough for the cook, as he gave her the biggest smile he could. He was an older man, portly man that took his cooking very seriously. Anytime someone complained about the food, he didn’t get angry. Instead, he got a little depressed. The only thing he knew how to do was to cook, and cooking bad food was a major failure to him. 

Once he left, Cortez stood in the doorway, asking Cora if she needed anything before he left. Cora, having spilled her heart out in that journal, felt that maybe she could try going with him on his rounds. 

“May I come with you?”

That, honestly, took Cortez by surprise. He wasn’t expecting her to leave his cabin for a few more days, if at all. Folding his arms over his chest, he looked down at her and chewed on his bottom lip for a moment. 

“Are you sure you’re up for that?”

“Won’t know if I don’t try.” 

There wasn’t anything else for Cortez to ask or say, so he nodded at her. Cora grabbed the shoes she was loaned and slipped them on. Cora trotted after Cortez, following him up the main staircase to the upper deck, where he met up with Magda, Moss, Santos and Lieutenant Lesaro. They all looked at Cora, with similar shocked expressions. She, immediately, felt sheepish. The only person that Cora really saw after what happened was Santos and it was only for a few moments. Cora placed her hands behind her back and stood somewhat behind Cortez. The man was quickly turning into her safety blanket. She almost felt like a child again, hiding behind her father when she was faced with situations that spiked her anxiety. 

Lesaro spoke, as his eyes lingered on Cora for another minute or so. 

“Capitan wants to make sure all men are ready for port. We should be there in an hour or so. We’ll have a ship-wide meeting to go over expectations but off-shore visitation has been granted. Cortez, Capitan thinks maybe Miss Anderson would like to stretch her legs. It’s up to her whether she wants to go ashore, if she does, she is in your care.”

“Of course, sir.” 

Go ashore? There was no way that they were at Cartagena already. Cora would have to ask Cortez about it when she got the opportunity. 

“Also, when we got back onto the ship, we will be dealing with the two men in the brig.” 

Cora felt her stomach drop and her head felt light. She wanted to throw up. She highly doubted that any of the other crew had been sent to the brig since the incident involving her. Cortez looked over his shoulder at Cortez, before turning back to Lesaro and nodding.

He seemed to pause a moment, his eyes moving to Cora. 

“Capitan would like you to attend, Miss Anderson. He sees it as a way for you to gain some closure.” 

Cora looked up at Lesaro and then to Cortez. His mouth was agape as if he wanted to say something but he was unsure of what. He, then, bit his bottom lip.

“I don’t – uhh.”

Cora could see how Cortez was struggling. She had never heard him stutter like that before. She couldn’t lie, it made her heart melt a bit. Cora had been under the impression that she meant nothing more to Cortez than someone he just needed to keep alive. But when she thought about the last few days with him, she realized that maybe he cared about her. It wasn’t anything excessive. It just seemed that Cortez didn’t want her to face anything that would hurt her. Not again, anyways. 

“No, it’s fine. If Captain Salazar wants me there, I can oblige.”

Lesaro nodded at her, then dismissed himself to attend to his duties. The others dispersed as well, leaving Cora and Cortez by themselves.

“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to.” 

“No, it’s okay. I’ve had some time to deal with it. For the most part.” 

Cortez sucked in a breath. 

“Officer Cortez, it’s okay. You don’t have to worry about me.” Cora’s expression was soft and delicate. It put a lump in Cortez’s throat. 

“Cora, if what happened to you happened to someone I cared about, I would act the same way. I don’t like seeing a woman in distress.” 

Her eyes studied his face. He was being genuine and she could see that. There was a hurt in his eyes that tugged at her heart. Cortez saw her as a normal person, not an enemy. That realization made her feel awful because for days she was looking at that Spanish crew as if they were all savages. The racism that her father taught her had reared its ugly head. Cora looked down at the ground, vowing to herself that she would break the cycle of hatred. Cortez, like her, was a normal person and it took him truly caring about her well-being to see that. 

They didn’t speak for a long time after that. Not because she didn’t want to, but because Cortez was busy with his duties. Cortez, as Cora learned, spent a lot of his time on the gundeck, making sure the men in there were keeping up with the guns and maintaining other parts of the ship. Cortez would inspect each cannon, looking for any imperfections that may cause a problem during a battle. He, also, checked muskets and all ammunition. 

When he did go to the upper deck, he would check to make sure the crew was securing the rigging properly and really, anything else that an officer would do. If someone needed help with something, Cortez had no problem taking over and showing them how to properly do it. Cora had felt that he was a strong leader, someone who cared about his crew and someone that loved his job. 

Cortez had caught Cora looking at one of the firearms. Her fingers ran over the wooden body of the musket, appreciating the beauty of the dark wood and the silver metal that laid within it. She looked up to see Cortez watching her and she pulled her hand away. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean – “ 

“No, it’s okay. Have you ever shot one?”

Cora let out a laugh. 

“My father would never let me touch a musket, let alone fire one. I’m a lady, after all.” 

Cortez licked his lips and smiled. 

“Maybe one day I’ll show you how they work.” 

Cora was about to tell him that she would like that when the two of them heard a man on the upper deck shout. They were approaching the port. Cora had completely forgotten to ask him where they were stopping, not that it mattered now. She followed Cortez to the upper deck, where she walked over to the railing. Waving in the distance was a French flag. 

“A French port?” 

“Mhm. It’s a quick stop. We just need to get some supplies, check for any damages.” 

“I’d like to go ashore if that’s all right with you.” 

“Of course,” Cortez said. 

They made it ashore about an hour later. Cortez walked with Cora along at the docks and to a few small stalls. The venders there were selling mostly clothes or various fruits. While Cortez went to grab himself a snack, Cora found herself looking at dresses. They weren’t the same quality as the one she lost but then again, these were from street vendors. Cora cocked her head to the side, as she handled an ivory-colored dress with dozens of red roses all over it. The skirt of the dress had a large cutout, of sorts, in the middle allowing for a cream-colored fabric to be added. It was a simple dress but it was still lovely and, to be honest, it was far better than what she was currently wearing. 

The vendor looked up at her, giving her an odd look. Cora knew that she only spoke French, so when she asked her what was wrong, she spoke in her native tongue. The woman raised a hand, motioned to her clothing and moved it up and down.

“Why are you wearing that?” She asked.

“Long story, but I lost all of my possessions.”

The two women talked for a few minutes until Cortez returned. The vender eyed him cautiously and quickly asked Cora if she was safe. The woman had no idea that Cora was British and was being held by the Spanish. All she knew was that Cortez was a Spaniard and that the woman with him, who was possibly French, was dressed as a man. During this time, Spain and France were amicable at best, having a common enemy in England. This allowed Spain to use French ports and vice versa. Cora nodded, assuring the woman she was fine. 

“I promise, I’m okay. He saved my life.” Cora placed her hand onto Cortez’s arm, as he was raising it to place an apple into his mouth. 

Cortez only caught a few words but still couldn’t make sense of what they were talking about. He assumed it had to do with the dress that was in Cora’s other hand. 

“How much is it?” 

Cora looked up at him, taken aback. She looked at the dress and let go, letting the fabric fall back onto the table. 

“Oh no, that’s not – I was just looking at it.” 

“Okay, so how much is it?” 

Cora turned to the woman and asked her for a price, then she looked to Cortez and relayed the information. 

“Tell her we’ll take it.” 

“Oh no, Officer Cortez. That’s okay.” Cora’s cheeks grew rosy at the offer. She had never had a man, besides her father, buy her something. 

“Cora, you’re wearing a uniform from one of my men. He’s going to need it back. Just take the dress.”

Cortez wasn’t really buying the outfit for the reason he stated. He was getting tired of seeing this beautiful woman dressed as a man. It was unnatural and quite frankly, he wanted to see what she looked like in a dress. From the moment he met her, he only saw her in clothing owned by men, or naked. 

Cortez handed the woman money, as Cora picked up the dress. There was nowhere for her to change, so she would have to wait until they got back on the ship. The two of them walked down back to the dock, waiting for the rest of the crew to get back on. Cortez was sure they had found the closest tavern, even though Salazar had told them not to get drunk. He knew they weren’t there for the alcohol though. Those men were there for the prostitutes, which meant Cora and he had plenty of time to talk. 

“Think of that dress as a gift. I know you lost all of your things and I feel a little bad.” 

“Ah, so it was a pity purchase, not one of necessity.” 

Cortez mentally slapped his forehead. 

“No, not at all. He does need his uniform back but I also feel bad.” 

Cora pursed her lips together, as her mouth twisted into a little smirk. Cortez ignored the look she was giving him and tried to focus the conversation elsewhere.

“Is your mother also waiting for you in Port Royal?” 

Cora shook her head. Cortez pressed her for more information, asking if her mother had been on the ship that sunk. He was afraid that she would tell him horrific stories of how she had to watch her mother get murdered by those pirates or that she watched her woman burn, as the ship went up in flames. 

“No, she passed away a few years ago. My father was out at sea, so I was left with our maid.” 

“I’m so sorry.” 

Cortez was being completely genuine when he told her that. He couldn’t imagine the pain of losing one's parents, especially when only one was really present. Cora told him it was okay but he could see the pain in her eyes. Her eyes focused on the ground as she told him that her mother had gotten very sick and Cora had written to her father, telling him he needed to come home. He didn’t however, and Cora still held some resentment for him because of it. 

“I always felt that the military came first.”

The military? Cora had told Salazar that her father was the governor in Port Royal. Cortez squinted as he processed that information. He decided to ask her about it. 

“Oh! Well, he got injured and was unable to continue his military service. He has a lot of friends in high places, so they recommended that he take over as governor of Port Royal.” 

There was something off in her story and he couldn’t quite place what it was. He knew, however, that she was lying. It made him want to press her further, but he, instead, went back to her mother. If he continued talking about her father, she would probably find a way of out it. And he would probably never get another chance to ask her about him. 

“What was your mother like?” 

Cora seemed to perk up a bit when describing her mother to Cortez. The woman was her best friend and even though she was crushed that she was gone, she was happy to relive memories of her. She told him how kind she was, how she was obedient, and how she would kick the cooks out of the kitchen so that she could bake. 

“And you’re grandparents?” 

“My father's parents are no longer living. And my mother's parents are too far away. Sort of.”

Cora noted the confusion in Cortez’s face. 

“They live in County Sligo and my father would never allow me to go to Ireland.” 

“Your mother was Irish?” Cortez was beyond shocked. The Irish had been destroyed by the British for so long, he was surprised that anyone from the country would marry one of them. 

“Yes. Well … my father would lie to people and tell them she’s British. But when people found out she was Irish, he would get very angry and tell them that she was refined. She no longer had any ties to those disgusting, savage people.” 

Cora looked down at the apple that she had been holding, the cream-colored dress sat in her lap. Cortez slowed down his chewing, taking in what she had just said. When he didn’t say anything, Cora continued.

“My father believes that if you aren’t British, then you’re nothing. You’re scum. You’re trash.” 

There it was. Cortez had expected that to be the case but Cora never seemed to show him any hatred. A little distrust, sure. Was it because she was afraid of the crew that she hadn’t expressed her hate toward them? Or was it that she didn’t believe what her father told her? 

Cortez finished what was left of his apple and tossed the core into the ocean. He turned slightly on the barrel he sat on and looked down at Cora. She was still looking at the ground, playing with her apple in her hands. 

“And what do you think?” 

“I’m not sure what I think. You’ve shown me hospitality that my father convinced me your kind would never have. You’ve been kind to me. You’ve done your best to keep me safe. You’ve never said anything hateful to me and it seems like you don’t hate me for being British.” 

“You’re right, I don’t. I dislike the British government, but I don’t necessarily hate their people.” 

“Nico!” 

Cora and Cortez looked in the direction of the voice and saw Officer Santos stomping toward them. He had been on the ship, having no need to go ashore for a short leave. Cortez stood up, concerned at how Santos was conducting himself. It was clear that something was very, very wrong. 

“What is –“

“I need to speak with you. Now.” 

“Okay.”

“Alone.” 

He looked at Cora and for the first time, he looked angry. Cortez looked to Cora for a moment and told her to wait there. He made sure to stay insight so that she felt more comfortable being left alone. Before he turned around to speak with Santos, he saw her take the first bite of her apple. 

“What is it?” 

“Okay, I ran out of paper, so I went into your cabin to find some. Saw your journal and opened it up being to rip out a couple pages. I noticed that Cora had crossed out your name and wrote down hers.”

Cortez raised his brow and let out a confusion, flustered laugh. 

“You ran all the way out here to tell me that? I gave it to her.”

“Nico. You must have not seen what it says. You said you thought she was lying about her name, that day in the great cabin.”

Cortez nodded, remembering the moment well. 

“You were right. Her last name isn’t Anderson. It’s Anson.” 

Cortez felt all the blood drain from his face. He had heard that name before. 

“Anson … as in – “ 

“Commodore George Anson. Yes!” 

Commodore George Anson was a problem for the Spanish. He had been apart of the Battle of Portobello that had happened 11 months ago. Salazar was busy catching pirates but the entire crew knew how horrible that battle was. So many lives lost and so many things destroyed all because the British were looking to colonize another piece of land. 

“Fuck!” 

Hearing Cortez yell, Cora looked up at the men and narrowed her eyes. Cortez placed her hand against his forehead, continuing to curse in Spanish. 

“When everyone is back aboard, we’ll talk to Capitan.” 

Cortez went to gather Cora, trying to be as calm as he possibly could. He waved for her to come with him and cocked his head toward the ship. Cora followed him aboard and he went straight for his cabin. When they got inside, Cortez shut the door and glared at the woman. Cora had backed up and sat down on the bench. The look he was giving her suggested that he wanted to strike her down right there. She opened her mouth to speak, not sure why he was so upset with her. It, however, wouldn’t take long. 

Cortez turned toward the door and was silent for a moment. His behavior was erratic and it was beginning to terrify Cora. He punched the door with one fist, before turning and grabbing the journal off the desk. Cora instantly knew where this was going. 

“Cora Anson!” 

“Anderson.” 

“Stop fucking lying to me!” 

Cortez stomped across the space, opening the journal to where her name was written and threw it onto the bench. When this man was angry, he was completely different. Cora was, legitimately, terrified of him. He reminded her of her father. Cora’s leg bounced, as she focused her eyes on a plank of wood laid into the floor, not wanting to look at him. Cortez grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up at him. She squeaked, flinching at his touch. 

“Why didn’t you tell us who you really were?” 

When Cora didn’t answer fast enough, Cortez screamed the question at her again. Cora closed her eyes, trying to move away from him. 

“Because of how you’re acting now!” 

Just as quickly as he grabbed her, he let her go and took a step back. Cortez didn’t normally fly off the handle like that but something about her being the daughter of Commodore Anson really set him off. 

“I know that my father is a huge target for the Spanish and I was afraid I’d be killed if I gave you my real name.” 

“Fuck, Cora!” 

Cortez walked over to his bed and sat down on it. He placed his face in his hands and tried to calm himself down. This woman that he was beginning to really like had, in fact, turned out to be a fraud. Sitting in the same room with him was the daughter of the man who helped sink Spanish ships, destroy Spanish towns and kill Spanish people. He closed his eyes and focused on his breathing. He knew that the actions of her father didn’t necessarily reflect on her but that didn’t mean other people would feel the same way. He also knew that he needed to give this information to his captain. 

Abruptly, he stood up and opened the door. Cora sat up, looking bleary-eyed.

“Where are you going?” 

“I need to speak to Capitan Salazar.”

Cora hopped up and ran over to Cortez. She grabbed his arm and pleaded with him not to. Cortez refused to make eye contact with her. His voice had gone back to being emotionless and his personality had reverted back to being stoic. 

“I’m sorry.” 

With that, he left her in his cabin, locking the door behind him. Cora sunk to the floor and let the tears flow down her cheeks. She was doomed. 


	6. Drunken Sailor

“Cora Anson. Daughter of the great Commodore George Anson.”

Miguel Magda hadn’t liked her from the moment he saw her barely alive, in the ocean, amongst the wreckage of her ship. Of course, however, Nico just needed to save her. Needed to be the hero. Magda glared at Cortez, shaking his head. 

“I told you, you should have let her fucking die!” 

While the men were standing up, shouting at one another, Salazar was sitting at the table. His dark eyes were fixed forward, his elbows propped onto the table and chin resting on top of his interlaced fingers. This girl falling into their laps, so to speak, may have actually been a good thing. Being that she was the daughter of a rather high standing military officer could just work in their favor. Salazar, while being focused on eliminating pirates, wasn’t ignorant of the battles that had been taking place between England and Spain. He knew all about what happened in Portobello. He was involved with the Battle at Cape Passaro. Commodore Anson was even involved in the War of the Spanish Succession. Anson was well known to the Spaniards. 

When Salazar looked at his men, finally, he saw Nico and Miguel in an embrace. Not a friendly one. Antonio was busy trying to pull Nico away, as Hector Moss pulled Miguel away. Guillermo Lesaro was yelling at the men, telling them to calm down and break apart from one another. Salazar smacked his hand onto the table. The men, immediately, stopped what they were doing. Their captain was a man that they respected, but also greatly feared. El Matador del Mar was not going to let his men act like a bunch of schoolboys. Not in his presence anyways. 

“Sit down. Now.” 

The men did as they were commanded, taking their usual seats. Miguel glared across the table at Nico, wanting to jump over it and beat him into submission. He was letting this woman run his feelings and he didn’t like it. 

Salazar looked between both the men, his eyes holding a threatening glare. 

“What was that about?”

“Capitán, I’m sorry but I refuse to sit here and have someone, that I call my brother in arms, speak ill of me.” 

Magda leaned back, throwing his hands in the air. 

“Nico! Since that woman has come aboard, you’ve acted differently. You’ve started getting soft and I suspect it’s because you have feelings for her.”

“Nonsense,” Nico said, waving a dismissive hand. 

“Why are you buying her gifts then?” 

“A fucking dress, Miguel?! She’s in a military uniform! One of which is borrowed from one of our men.” 

Salazar yelled at them in Spanish to stop bickering. He was tired of hearing it. He changed the course of the conversation. 

“Now that we know who she is, we need to know why she was on that ship.”

Nico sighed. 

“She wasn’t lying about visiting her father in Port Royal. Just his name and occupation. His ship will be there. She didn’t say why though.” 

Nodding, he told Nico to go and fetch her. Cortez sucked in a breath, as he stood up. He walked to his cabin and opened up the door. He didn’t bother knocking, he didn’t care to. Cora was sitting on his bed, her eyes bloodshot and puffy. He felt a pang of guilt shoot through him. Nico didn’t want to lash out at her but he couldn’t help it. Knowing who her father was, was too much for him to handle at the present time. Maybe if she had been truthful since the beginning, he would have had more time to process the information. 

“Cora, Capitán wants to speak with you.” 

Cora, rather sheepishly, stood up and began to follow Cortez. Before they reached the door, Cora reached for Cortez’s arm but ended up grabbing his hand. With his brow raised, he looked back at the girl. 

“I’m sorry. I wouldn’t have lied to you if I thought that my life wasn’t in danger.” 

Cortez ignored her. He didn’t want to speak with her right now. He was still too angry. He held the door open for her, keeping his eyes forward. Cora moved into the great cabin and met the darkened eyes of the officers and the captain. Cora kept her eyes down, as Salazar asked her to take a seat onto the couch. 

“So, we know that you are Cora Anson, daughter of Commodore George Anson, sí?” 

Cora nodded. 

“Was the name of the ship you were on a lie, as well?” 

She nodded again. 

“What was the name of the ship?”

“HMS Kinsale.” 

Salazar looked to Lesaro, who was standing by Cora. The man with the eye patch looked down at her then looked to Santos. Antonio moved closer to the couch, catching the eye of Cortez when he did. Nico, at first, was unsure as to why they were slowly moving in on her. When the realization hit, he took a step back, not wanting to be apart of it.

“Why is your father going to Port Royal? Clearly, he is not the governor.” 

Cora shook her head and shrugged. As soon as she uttered that she didn’t know, Salazar tapped his sword onto the floor. Without missing a beat, Santos whipped out his sword and held it to her throat. Cora gasped and squirmed, trying to push herself as far back as possible to keep the cold blade off of her skin. She had only caught a glimpse, but she saw Cortez close his eyes and turn his head the other way. 

“I don’t know! I don’t know! He never tells me what his expeditions consist of!” 

Salazar growled, standing up from his usual chair and leaning close to her face. Santos pressed the blade more into her skin. Cora was afraid to swallow against it, fearing that if she did the sword would slice her throat. 

“Then why do you know about the battle at Portobello?!” 

Cortez must have spoken to the captain about their conversations, which made her heart sink. A part of her knew something like that would probably happen but it still hurt. She spoke to him in confidence and had hoped he was trustworthy.

“He tells me stories when he returns home! Or he’ll send me letters about them! But he never tells me before they happen!” 

Salazar straightened up, but continue to keep his eyes on the girl. Santos was laser-focused on her as well, making sure she didn’t move and awaiting any orders from his captain. Finally, Salazar let out a laugh. It actually made Cora shake. This was a man that was extremely powerful and intimidating. Cora didn’t know exactly what he did within the military, as far as battles go. The only thing she knew was that at the time his crew found her, he was hunting down a pirate. 

“Smart man,” He stated. 

His eyes looked up at Santos and he cocked his head to the side, quickly. Santos removed the sword from Cora’s neck and sheathed it. The girl's hand shot up to her neck, her fingers gently moving over the indentation left by the blade. Her breath hitched, as her eyes closed. She was just thankful, at that moment, they hadn’t decided to kill her. 

“Don’t tell your loved ones of your plans, in case they are ever captured.” 

Salazar was amused. Surely the commodore knew that even if Cora didn’t know anything, it didn’t guarantee her safety. From what he knew of the Brit, he couldn’t be sure if he was protecting his daughter or protecting his country. She was half Irish, after all. Or to her father, she was half-savage. He took a seat again and looked at Cora. He figured he scared her enough for now. 

“So why did you lie?” 

“It’s obvious, isn’t it? I thought you would just kill me.”

Cora gave Santos a side glance, trying to see how close he was and if his hand was ready to press that damn sword to her throat again. When her eyes looked forward again, she saw Cortez standing by the large windows of the great cabin. He seemed uncomfortable and didn’t want to be there. He had his hand pressed to the wooden wall, his other hand on his hip and his eyes looking out onto the sea. Moss had walked over to stand with Nico, probably to see if he was okay. Magda stood behind Captain Salazar, glaring at Cora. She wasn’t afraid of Magda but she definitely wasn’t going to cross him, especially without Cortez around. 

“I know the things that my father has been apart. Albeit, after the fact. The sins of my father should not reflect poorly on me. I wasn’t there. I didn’t do anything. However, people won’t always see it like that.” 

Salazar understood what she was saying and she was correct. She was innocent, as far as not being involved in the things her father was involved in. Salazar wouldn’t have killed her if she had told them the truth from the get-go. He wasn’t even going to kill her now. There was something that he did want from her though.

“I have no interest in killing you. That wouldn’t do anything. Your father would just assume you were lost at sea.” 

Salazar leaned back into his chair, and put his hand up, one finger pointing upwards. He spoke in Spanish to Magda, who nodded and went to the captain's desk. When he returned, he placed paper, a quill, and an inkpot onto the table behind Salazar. The captain nodded his head toward the table, silently telling Cora to go over there. Santos grabbed Cora by the arm and hoisted her up. He walked her over to the table and, as gently as he could sound, he told her to take a seat. Salazar joined her at the table, sitting at the opposite end. 

“We haven’t left port yet, so I want you to write a letter to your father. Explain that you are safe with the crew of the Silent Mary.”

Lesaro cleared his throat. 

“Capitán, do you think it’s wise to tell them where she is?” 

“It doesn’t matter. We are hunting pirates, not the British military. Besides, we will be back in Cartagena before they find us.” 

Cora began to scribble across the paper, making sure to hit all the points that Salazar wanted her to. As she wrote, he dictated what else he wanted. She had even written that she would be in Cartagena and if he wanted her back, he would need to strike a deal with Spain. Now the letter made sense. Cora was going to be a political pawn. She didn’t know if that was better or worse than being killed. She would be in the care of the Spaniards for who knew how long. Cora wasn’t sure if the Crown would even want to make any sort of deal to get her back to her father. He may have been a commodore but it didn’t seem like it would be worth the effort to extract her and bring her back to Port Royal or to London. 

There was too much danger in the Caribbean, what with the Spanish and British being at war with each other. The British also had an enemy in the French and then there were the pirates that plagued the seas. Cora couldn’t see how the Crown would care about her. She was just one woman. 

When she was finished, she handed the letter to Lesaro who handed it to Salazar. He thanked Cora for her cooperation and then looked to Cortez and spoke in Spanish to him. He was still standing by the windows, however, he was turned towards the table, looking at Cora. Cortez walked over to her, taking her by the arm and dragging her from the room. Did these men think that her legs didn’t work? 

“I can walk myself, thank you.” 

She ripped her arm out of his grasp and walked in step with him. She felt him glare at her for a moment but he didn’t stop to reprimand her. Cora had never been sassy or mouthy before and Cortez wondered if her true colors were coming out or if she was just frustrated. It didn’t matter to him, considering he was frustrated with her. 

As they made their way back to his cabin, Cora heard the other officers leave behind them. It seemed as though their meeting was done for the time being. 

Cortez shut the door behind him, as Cora moved to sit on the bench. He took a seat at his desk and glanced over at her for a moment. She was looking at him, with saddened eyes. He felt bad that she just had a sword against her neck but it was necessary to get the information they needed. 

Speaking of which, Cortez needed to get something off his chest and now was the best time to do. He knew he didn’t owe Cora an explanation as to why he flew off the handle but he wanted to explain himself. Unsure of the best way to start the conversation, Cortez just began to talk. 

“Your father was apart of the battle that took place in Portobello. There were a lot more wounded people than casualties, but for the ones who lost someone, it was hard.” 

Cora watched him, curiously. He seemed almost defeated but not quite. She wasn’t really sure what to call it. Something about his demeanor was bothering her; she felt awful but she wasn’t even sure why. 

“My brother was aboard one of the ships that were sunk. He lost his life at the age of 14.” 

He placed his forehead in his hand and let out a sigh. Cortez hadn’t actually dealt with the death of his brother. The boy's body was never found, and he never attended the funeral because he was out at sea. Cora wanted to run over to him and throw her arms around him in an embrace. She knew what it felt like to lose a family member, especially one that was too young to die. Cora wondered why Cortez hadn’t shared that information with her. Perhaps, she figured, that he wasn’t ready, even if she was sharing personal information with him. She bit her bottom lip and continued to watch him. The only thing that she could do was to tell him that she was sorry. 

Cortez was quiet for a while before, finally, standing up and leaving the room. He had left the key with Cora since he didn’t know when he would be coming back. Cora grabbed her journal and wrote a quick passage. She knew now why Cortez was so upset with her, but really he wasn’t upset with her. He was angry at her father and the events that had taken place. Commodore Anson may have not been the one to personally kill the young boy, but that didn’t matter. He was still involved and that still hurt. Cora felt awful, her heart ached for Cortez and there was nothing she could do to help. Hell, he probably didn’t even want her to help. For all she knew, he didn’t want anything to do with her. 

Hours passed and Cora had fallen asleep. When she awoke, the natural light that had filled the room was gone. It was replaced by pure darkness. The lantern on the desk wasn’t lit, meaning that Cortez had either left again or he had never returned. Cora kicked her legs over the side of the bench and got up to leave. She had gone to the latrine and when coming out, she saw the back of Cortez heading toward one of the gun towers. Cora followed behind, making sure to stay a safe distance away from him, as to not get caught. 

As she approached the stairwell, leading up to the tower, she heard Cortez singing. It wasn’t exceedingly loud and it sounded quite sad. His voice also sounded strange and she couldn’t quite pinpoint why. Cora walked up the steps, making sure to be as quiet as possible. When she got to the top, she saw Cortez by one of the two guns. He was leaning against it, looking out the hole the gun was placed in. 

_‘Way hay and up she rises_

_Way hay and up she rises_

_Way hay and up she rises_

_Early in the morning!_

_Put him in a longboat till he's sober_

_Put him in a longboat till he's sober_

_Put him in a longboat till he's sober_

_Early in the morning!’_

Cora took a step into the room and a board gave away her position. Cortez turned around at the squeak, placing a free hand onto his sword. When his eyes adjusted and saw who it was, he threw his arms up and pushed himself off the gun with his hip. 

“Cora Anson! What a lovely surprise!” 

His words were coming out slurred. When he tried to take a step, he stumbled a little and fell into the wall. Cora noticed that in his other hand was a bottle. He reeked of wine and Cora knew instantly that the bottle wasn’t filled with anything that would help him. This was her fault. Cortez called her over, waving a hand frantically to get her to move faster. When she was close enough, he threw an arm around her and brought her in for a hug. 

Drunkenness always confused Cora. Sometimes you were happy, sometimes you were sad and sometimes you went on a rampage and destroyed everything in your sight. Cora was certain that the happiness he was exuding was just a mask.

“You … are … so beautiful.”

Her cheeks flushed at the comment. She swallowed hard, not wanting to say anything. Even if she had tried, it was clear Cortez wasn’t finished. 

“I have to be honest,” he said, before placing his hand over his mouth and stifling the sound of a hiccup. 

“I’ve thought you were attractive from the moment I met you. I think I may have even started feeling something for you.” 

Cortez brought the bottle to his lips and threw his head back. 

Instinctively, Cora reached up to take the bottle from him. He took that as a sign that she wanted some. He pressed the bottle to her lips and tilted it, letting the alcohol slosh against her mouth. Cora had to push him back, as the deep, blood-red liquid trickled down her chin and onto the white shirt she wore. When Cora finally pried the bottle from his hands, Cortez had begun to laugh. This felt like some sort of strange party for him and Cora wanted to be sober for it. She didn’t know what Cortez was capable of when he was drunk. Nor did she know what he was capable of when he was angry. Unfortunately for Cora, he was both, even though he seemed happy at the moment. Of course, that was just the booze talking.

Cortez took a step backward and hit the wall. Cora moved closer to him, grabbing his waist and letting her hands slide up under his armpits. She was trying her best to keep him standing but he was bigger than her by quite a bit. He slid down to the floor, still laughing. 

“But then … then I find out that you lied to me.” 

Cora knelt down in front of him. There was nothing she could say to make him feel any better. At least she didn't think so. 

“I’m sorry. I wouldn’t have if my father wasn’t a bastard.” 

“Oh, so you hate your father too.” 

That wasn't true. Cora didn't hate her father. He was a difficult man to live with, yes, but she didn't hate him. If anything she missed him and just wished that he would spend more time at home with her. Especially now since he's the only parent that she has left. There were times Cora wondered if her father even loved her. The question of him always leaving was always on her mind. Was it just because he valued his career or was it because he resented his wife and daughter that he was gone so often? 

Cora placed a hand onto his leg and tried to look into his eyes. She felt she needed to have a real heart to heart conversation with him. She wanted to express how sorry she was but she also wanted to tell him that none of this was her fault. Cortez’s eyes were bloodshot, as far as she could tell with the moonlight shining into the tower. He looked at her through half-lidded eyes before leaning forward and placing his lips against hers. 

Cora fell back onto her butt, bringing her hand to her lips. That was a gesture she wasn’t expecting, but somehow she was still afraid it would happen. Cora, up until that point, hadn’t known how she felt about Cortez. She had looked at him as some sort of protector. Maybe a possible friend but she never thought that he would have any sort of feelings for her. Or that she could have any towards him, in the romantic sense. Nico moved again, trying to stand up and take her hand. Once she was on her feet, Cora wrapped an arm around Nico’s waste.

“No more kisses until we get to your cabin.” She said, trying to keep him upright. Cora didn't plan on giving him any more affection. For one, he was drunk. And secondly, she didn't know how she truly felt about him. As of right now, he was a safety blanket. Someone she could, sort of, rely on. 

“Mmm. I like the sound of that.” 

It was difficult but Cora managed to get Nico down the stairwell, without him maiming himself in the process. She was quite surprised he hadn’t pulled her down the stairs with how much he was wobbling. They made their way to past the latrine when Nico stopped. He turned, pushing Cora out of the way and ran in. He fell to his knees in front of the hole in the bench and let go. Cora followed him in and, not wanting to leave his side, sat down next to him. She placed her hand onto his back and began to rub in small circles. Her mother would do that anytime she fell ill, usually from eating too many sweets. This was the least that Cora could do for him, after what he had been through.

“What the fuck is going on in here?” 

Magda stormed into the latrine, pushing Cora away from Cortez and off to the side. Nico lifted his face up from the hole and looked back at Magda. He went to speak but instead turned back to the toilet and got sick again. Magda glared at Cora and advanced on her. He grabbed her by the front of her shirt and pulled her up to his face. 

“What did you do to him?!” 

Nico looked over at Magda and with a shaky hand, smacked the back of the man's leg. 

“She didn’t do anything. Leave her alone.” 

Magda dropped Cora back to the floor then sat on the bench beside Nico and shook his head. 

“What the fuck happened then?” 

Cora moved to the other side of Nico and went right back to his rubbing his back. He seemed to be sobering up but not by a lot. The look Magda was giving her was evidence enough that he didn’t like her touching his friend. 

“Wine,” Nico grumbled, wiping his mouth.

Magda rolled his eyes. He had never seen Cortez so unhinged. He had a feeling he knew why but he wasn’t going to bring it up. He wanted to wait until Cortez was sober enough to have a full conversation. 

“Cora is helping me.” 

“Well, now I’m helping you. Let’s go. On your feet.” 

Magda stood up and moved behind Nico. He hooked his arms underneath Nico’s armpits and tried to stand him up. When he got him up enough, he told Cora to grab his other side and they would walk him to his cabin. 

“Isn’t she beautiful, Miguel?” Nico said, his words still somewhat slurred.

“Lovely,” he answered in a clipped tone. Cora was thankful for the dark walk to Cortez’s cabin, otherwise, Magda would see how hard she was blushing. 

“Isabella wouldn’t approve,” Nico said with a shaky laugh. 

“You’re right,” Magda said, stepping into Cortez’s cabin and placing him onto his bed. 

“She wouldn’t. At all.” 

Magda gave Cora instructions on what to do if he got any worse. When he left, Cora tucked Nico in and told him to stay put. As quickly and quietly as she could, she went down to the crew's quarters to gather some water. Cortez would need it to rehydrate. Cora didn’t like the idea of going down there, in the dark, by herself but Nico was hurting and she wanted to help him. He had saved her twice now, and the least she could do for him was to take care of him which he was sobering up. 

Cora got as much water into a bucket as could and went back to Nico’s cabin. When she entered, he was leaning over the bed, throwing up into a different bucket. Cora frowned at him, feeling so bad that he was going through that. She walked over to where Nico’s coat hung and grabbed the handkerchief that was sticking out of his pocket. She moved back to the cot and sat on the edge of it. When Nico finally rolled back over onto his back, he groaned. Cora dipped the fabric into the water and proceeded to pat his forehead with it. 

Nico took hold of her wrist and placed a kiss against it. 

“I’m sorry I lashed out at you. You didn’t deserve that.” 

“We can discuss it later. Right now you just need to get some rest.” 

Nico smiled a little, with his eyes still closed. Before he turned over onto his side, he kissed the inside of Cora’s wrist again. She couldn’t help but smile at the gesture. 

“Sing to me, querida.” 

Cora thought for a moment, trying to pick a song that was easy on the ears. Something that would help him fall asleep. She decided on a song that she could sing low and slow. 

_‘Ye fleeting charms of earth_

_Farewell, your springs of joy are dry_

_My soul now seeks another home_

_A brighter world on high’_

Cora took it upon herself to scoot closer to him. She leaned onto her side and brought her legs up onto the bed, making herself comfortable.

_‘I'm a long time traveling here below_

_I'm a long time traveling away from home_

_I'm a long time traveling here below_

_To lay this body down’_

Cora was propped up enough to be able to stroke his black hair. Nico reached back, placing his hand onto her back and pulling her small frame closer to him so that her body was pressed up against his. He seemed so relaxed with her so close.

_‘Farewell kind friends whose tender care_

_Has long engaged my love_

_Your fond embrace I now exchange_

_For better friends above’_

This reminded Cora of the night she was raped; when she finally broke down and Nico sat with her all night, just comforting her. 

_‘I'm a long time travelling here below_

_I'm a long time travelling away from home_

_I'm a long time travelling here below_

_To lay this body down...’_

Nico had fallen sleep, gently snoring, just as she finished the song. She stood up, placing the bucket of close to his cot and hung the rag off the side of it. The small brunette leaned over the tall onyx haired man and placed her lips against his cheek. That seemed to please him, even in slumber, as he made a small humming sound when she pulled away. 

Cora went to sleep that night thinking about the events that lead her this evening. She questioned how she felt about Nico and if she hadn’t noticed because of the trauma she was dealing with. Maybe he was just something safe for her because of how many times he saved and her brain was looking for anyone to give her comfort. Regardless, Cora knew that she found Cortez attractive. However, she had this nagging demon that lived in the darkest recesses of her brain that kept telling her he was the enemy, that he was savage and that he was dirty. The demon was her father. If she wanted to pursue any sort of relationship with Nico Cortez, she was going to have to fight that demon tooth and nail to keep him quiet. 

“Mierda…” 

Nico sat up the next morning way too quickly and felt his head swimming and pounding at the same time. He didn’t remember that last time he allowed himself to get that drunk and he regretted every second of it. What he didn’t regret, however, was everything that had happened last night. He distinctly remembered kissing Cora and everything that happened afterward. When she crossed his mind, he looked over at the bench to find her still asleep. He watched as her chest rose and fell slowly. She was so peaceful. 

His thoughts were interrupted with Santos busting in through the door. Surely to make sure his friend was still alive and he was right.

“Are you okay?” 

“Yes, I’m fine.” He nodded towards Cora. “She helped me as much as she could. I have a headache though. Feels like there’s a boulder on my head.”

“Magda said that you were completely gone. You were getting sick, you were calling Cora ‘beautiful’.”

Santos took a seat at Cortez’s desk and raised his brow at him. Nico knew exactly where he was going to go with this. He was going to tell him that pursuing a relationship with this British commodores daughter was a stupid idea; not only because she was British but because he was already betrothed to someone. Also, for all he knew, Cora could be betrothed to someone. It was plausible, she had lied before. 

He was right again, that is exactly what Antonio started in on. Nico sighed, placing his feet onto the floor and looking up at Santos. 

“Can we talk about this later…?”

He nodded towards Cora again and said under his breath that he didn’t want to wake her up. And while that was true, he had another reason he didn’t want her in on that conversation. 

“Sure.” Santos stood up and moved to the doorway. 

“I’ll see you at breakfast. Bring Cora. Capitan thinks she’s been hiding in here long enough.” 

Shit, Capitán. Nico grimaced at the thought of Salazar knowing about his shenanigans. He sucked in a breath and before he could speak, Santos laughed. 

“Capitán doesn’t know about last night. Magda said he would keep it to just him and me.” 

“Good. He fucking better.” 

Santos smirked at him and shook his head. He told him to hurry up and then he disappeared. Santos smirked at him and shook his head. He told him to hurry up and then he disappeared. Nico looked back over to Cora before he stood up and made his way to the bench. There was enough space for him to sit at the end of it, just by her head. He leaned back against the wall and looked down at her. Nico recalled the night before and hated how he acted. What he did was unlike him. He never let him get so sloppy that he was falling over himself and kissing women that weren’t his fiancée. 

Cora didn’t feel like a random woman though. He had known her for about a week and there was something about her that he found intriguing. The things that he knew about her, aside from her father, he liked. She was smart, she was eloquent and she was quite beautiful. He didn’t know how she felt about him but it clear that she didn’t hate him. That is if last night had meant anything. However, his feelings were frustrating to him. He had Isabella back in Cartagena that was more than ready to marry him and now he was feeling something for this British woman. A woman that, again, he had only known her for a short amount of time. Then there was the question of her father. He knew that it wasn’t her fault and he couldn’t hold her accountable for what her father did.

That begged the question if it was true that some people could experience love at first sight. Or if people could fall in love in just a week. Could someone fall in love with the enemy's daughter? Maybe what he was feeling wasn’t love at all but instead lust. He hadn’t been with a woman since he left Cartagena. He didn’t even know anymore. His emotions were all over the place and all he wanted was for them to get back into order. 

When Nico broke from his thoughts, he looked back down at Cora and found that he was, gently, stroking her hair. At that moment he wanted so badly to bend down and kiss her, but he didn’t. It wasn’t fair to Isabella that he was feeling like this. And depending on how Cora felt, it wasn’t fair to her either. He ran his hand through his hair and sighed. Cora stirred next to him, making soft sounds before her eyes fluttered open. 

Nico didn’t have time to move and pretend like he wasn’t just giving her loving touches. Cora looked up at him and gave him a small smile. She stretched and yawned before she worked up the energy to sit up. 

“How are you feeling?” 

Cora pressed the back of her hand to Nico’s forehead, checking his temperature. He was warm but not a feverish warmth. She was sure, however, that he was still experiencing somewhat of a hangover. 

“I’m fine. Just a headache. I’m a big boy, I’ll survive.” 

There was an awkward silence between the two of them. Cora wanted to desperately say something about last night and Nico did as well. Neither knew how to start the conversation or really what they were going to say. Cora looked down at the ground, as Nico propped his elbows onto his knees. He tilted his head to the side and watched her wring her hands in her lap. 

Nico thought to himself for a moment, trying to think of what to say. After a moment, he thought of something. Something that may have been rash but he wanted to see what would happen. 

“Cora…” 

She looked up at him, just as he was leaning closer to her. His eyes were focused on her face but not in a way that she had ever seen before. It looked as if he was more focused on her lips. When he got closer to her face, she knew that he was going in to kiss her. Her heart began to beat faster. She had a split second to think about her next move and when the moment came, she knew she made the right decision. 

Nico pressed his lips to hers and was surprised to find that she allowed him. There was a good chance that she was going to slap him away and he wouldn’t have blamed her if she did. Especially after what she had been through. Instead, she kissed him back. Cora turned slightly on her seat, bringing her hand up and placing it onto the back of his neck. Nico was more than happy with her reaction and he didn’t want her to stop. He moved his arm around her waist and pulled her as close to him as he could. He couldn’t think of anything else besides his lips against hers and Cora was feeling the same thing.

There was a knock at the door, making the two of them break apart just as quickly as they came together. Nico cleared his throat before he stood up and fixed himself. He walked to the door and pulled it open to see Moss standing outside. Had Magda told him too? 

“Capitán was wondering where you were. He also wanted me to tell you to bring Miss Anson with you.” 

Hector looked over Nico’s shoulder to Cora and couldn’t help but notice how flushed her skin was. He looked back at Nico with a raised brow. He didn’t know what was going on before he arrived there and he wasn’t even sure he wanted to know. He knew that Nico had a fiancée and that Nico wasn’t the type of guy to stray. However, his relationship was arranged. Isabella was very much into Nico but Nico didn’t seem to be that into Isabella. Of course, Hector could be wrong. He had only seen them together a few times before they set off on their voyage.

“Yeah, of course,” Nico said, clearing this throat again. “We’ll be up soon.”

“Maybe have her wear that dress you got her … I think it would impress Capitán, as well give Diego his uniform back.”

Moss left, leaving Cora and Nico alone again. Nico closed the door and looked to the woman sitting on the bench. Nico had almost forgotten about the dress he had given her. Cora walked over to the desk it was sitting on and picked it up. The dress only came with the stay. There were not pocket bags, petticoat, or hip rolls. It would only take a few minutes to get the dress on. Thankfully, the stay tied up in the front, not like the ones she usually wore, where they tied at the back. 

Nico opened the door, telling her he would wait for her outside. Cora slipped into the stay and the dress did her hair up as best as she could and walked out of the cabin to meet Nico. They walked into the great cabin and were greeted by Lieutenant Lesaro. He showed Cora to her seat, which was placed next to Nico. For some reason, she felt a pang of fear, thinking that perhaps Captain Salazar knew they had kissed. Thankfully, it was just a silly thought and she brushed it aside as so. 

Captain Salazar entered a few minutes later and sat down at the table, giving a nod to Cora. 

“Lovely to see you again, Miss Anson.”

“The feeling is mutual, Captain.” 

That amused him. He let out a single, soft laugh.

“Yes, I’m sure.” 

The galley cook entered the great cabin, thankfully stopping Cora from having to speak anymore. The cook, surprised to see Cora there, greeted her with a friendly hello, as he placed a plate full of food in front of her. It was the same breakfast that she had been eating since she left the crews’ quarters. Once everyone was served, Salazar led a small prayer, having each of them hold hands. It was an action that she wasn’t expecting. Cora didn’t think Salazar was the type of man to have such intimate moments with his crew, so seeing him in this light was, actually, heartwarming. She had only seen him as a strong, powerful, intimidating man, so this was a nice surprise.

Magda and Moss had glanced at Cora a few different times during breakfast. Cora knew how Magda felt about her, but she wasn’t so sure about Moss. He seemed indifferent. However, today he seemed more suspicious of her. She didn’t know if they had heard them kissing or if he just suspected that they were getting too close. As far as Magda, he was probably still upset about last night. Seeing his friend drunk and calling Cora beautiful was enough to piss him off even more and hate her even more. Even though she hadn’t done anything to him.

Santos was sitting on the opposite side of Cora. He spoke to her a little, asking her what London was like and if the people were as snobby at the British Royal Navy. Antonio was the nicest one of them all, besides Nico. When Cora was done talking about herself, Antonio sat there and told her all kinds of stories about him and Nico. One particular story was when they were practicing shooting muskets and Nico had tripped over a bucket, sending the musket into the ocean below them. 

“I hate that story,” Nico started. “It makes me sound like a complete idiot.” 

“Well, you’re at least half of an idiot,” Santos said, letting out a roar of laughter. 

Breakfast was rather quiet and Cora wondered if it was always this quiet or if it was because she was there. Salazar had asked her a few more questions, mainly about her family. Cora had told him about her mother, her passing and her grandparents. All of this information Salazar knew, Nico had told him. But that was okay, he figured that Cora didn’t know that he knew. She also told Salazar that she had no siblings, which he had already figured. Why would she be on the ship and not her siblings? Unless, of course, they were too young to travel.

Close to the end of breakfast, Salazar placed his napkin onto the table and looked around to everyone at the table, until his eyes landed on Cora. 

“Today at 6 bells we will be punishing the two men that raped you.” 

Thankfully, Cora didn’t have food or wine in her mouth, because she would have choked on it. She couldn’t do anything else besides nod at the captain. He hadn’t told them what the punishment was, but he made it clear that he wanted Cora to be there. He felt that it would help in her healing process. Cora agreed. She feared what she would see but as long as Nico was there, she may be okay. 


	7. Crack of the Whip

Cora paced back and forth in Nico’s cabin. Her nerves were getting the best of her as 4 pm drew nearer and Nico wasn’t even there to comfort her. He was busy making his rounds. Cora had decided to stay behind to try and collect herself but it wasn’t working. She had tried to read but was plagued by thoughts of those two men. She had also tried to write, but couldn’t get any words on the paper. She had actually gotten so frustrated that she threw the journal across the room. 

“It will be all right… It will be all right.” 

Cora kept repeating that phrase to herself, as she continued to pace. How was she going to deal with this? She wasn’t even truly over what had happened. After she had written in her journal about the rape, she had just pushed it into the back of her mind. She couldn’t see any benefit in reliving it, over and over in her mind. If she did, she would never be able to sleep again. If it was hidden away, she could at least have some sort of a normal life. Now, she was expected to go and watch these men get punished. She didn’t even know what the punishment was. Salazar made sure to keep it quiet. She, sort of, hoped they would be keel-hulled, that way she wouldn’t have to look at them again. However, she knew they wouldn’t be killed. Just punished, at least until they got back to Cartagena. She didn’t know what the military would do to them when they got back. More than likely just stick them onto a different ship.

Nico opened the door and slid in. He looked at Cora, nervously pacing and wringing her hands together. Taking off his hat, he dropped it onto the desk and walked over to her. He didn’t bother removing his coat, he just wanted to get to Cora as quickly as he could. He stopped in front of her and instinctively, they placed their arms around each other. Cora had found such a comfort in Nico that even if the kisses they shared were not but lust, at least she had someone to lean on. 

“Calm down,” he said, softly against the top of her head. 

“I can’t,” Cora said, her voice muffled against his chest. Nico carried a scent of leather, musk, gunpowder and a hint of spice. 

“I’ll be standing right there. You’ll be okay, I promise.” 

Cora groaned as Nico placed a kiss onto the top of her head. That made Cora recall what happened earlier in the day. She took a step back and looked up at him and bit her bottom lip. 

“Can we talk about what happened today?” 

Nico took a deep breath, bracing himself for the conversation. He was dreading when it would come up and he had actually hoped that it wouldn’t. Finally, he gave her a nod as he went to half sit on his desk. Cora sat on his bed and nervously tapped her feet on the ground. She wasn’t even sure how to start the conversation.

“What exactly are you feeling?” 

That seemed like a loaded question. Nico looked down at the ground for a moment, as he considered the best way to answer. While on his duties, he couldn’t stop thinking about Cora but he hadn’t sat down and wrestled with those thoughts. Were those feelings and thoughts just lust? The beginning of love? He didn’t know for sure but he didn’t want to stop exploring it. There was, however, the matter of Isabella. 

“I am fascinated by you if I’m being honest. You’re beautiful, you’re intelligent. Granted, you’re British but I can overlook that.” 

Cora playfully rolled her eyes upward, as a smirk took over her face. She folded her arms over her chest, trying to pretend she wasn’t amused. 

“And you’re a Spaniard,” she started taking a few steps closer to him. “I think I can forget that unfortunate bit because I like you. You’re handsome, strong. I find something endearing about men in uniform.”

Nico wiggled his eyebrows at her, as he reached out to take her by the waist. He pulled her close to him, as his head dipped down, allowing his lips to be inches from her. Cora abruptly placed a finger against her lips, just as he came in for the kiss. 

“Who is Isabella?” 

Nico jerked his head back to observe her and cocked it to the side. How did she know about Isabella? Had she seen the letter that he had written to her before it was sent out? His mind raced for a moment, trying to think of any logical reason that she would know. He didn’t remember ever mentioning her to Cora or while Cora was in his vicinity to anyone else. 

“You mentioned her the other night when you were drunk. You told Officer Magda that Isabella wouldn’t be happy about me.” 

“Ah, right.” 

Mierda. If this wasn’t a moment to slap your hand to your forehead, he didn’t know what was. His drunken antics had revealed Isabella to Cora. Thankfully, he wasn’t clear on who she was. Nico had to make a decision. Did he tell Cora the truth and potentially lose favor with her? Or did he lie to her and try to continue the masquerade when they arrived in Cartagena? Cora’s intense emerald eyes watched him intently. He could tell she was trying to study his facial movements and body language. He needed to decide fast.

“She’s my sister.” 

“Oh,” Cora, somewhat surprised. She half expected Isabella to be his lover or his wife. However, she trusted him, so if he said Isabella was just a sibling then she would believe it. Talk about blind faith. 

“Well, if that’s the case then…” She leaned forward, finally letting their lips meet. Nico smirked into the kiss, as his arms tightened around her frame. 

Nico tried to focus on Cora and the warmth of her body but he was feeling slightly guilty. He knew how much Isabella loved him, except he didn’t fully return that love. Her family, like his, was very wealthy and they saw prospects of land if their children were to wed. Nico wanted it to work if any for the sake of his parents. He cherished them and now that his younger brother was gone, he was the only one left to continue the legacy his great grandfather started. 

The bells sounded on the upper deck, causing Cora to groan against Nico’s lips. She didn’t want to go and watch whatever horrors were about to unfold. Nico turned to the door, grabbed his hat and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. He assured her that she would be fine and if anything she could just close her eyes. 

She followed him up to the upper deck and saw that one of the men was tied to the rigging, while the other man was tied to the gangplank opening. She wondered if the crew has ever had to have multiple men punished at the same time. Cora was ignorant toward punishment practices, as well as life on a ship. The first time she was on a ship was on the HMS Kinsale and that ship was pretty tame. No one had ever tried to touch her, but that’s probably because they knew who she was and what would happen to them. As far as Cora knew, none of the crew of the Silent Mary knew who she was or why she was there, other than that they found her floating in the ocean. 

Cora and Nico had made their way up to the quarterdeck and looked down onto the upper deck, as they waited for Captain Salazar. Officer Santos joined Nico, giving Cora a nod acknowledging her existence. At this point, Cora had guessed what the punishment of the two men was going to be but Santos told them anyways. They would be flogged with two cat o’ nine tails. The men had been chained up on the upper deck since the early morning, making the instruments that they would be flogged with. Santos explained to Cora that this was a common practice on ships, whether it was the British navy or the Spanish navy. They all did similar practices and these practices were to assure the safety of the crew. 

Captain Salazar and Lieutenant Lesaro came up from the great cabin and walked over to the handrail, to look down at the upper deck. Lesaro called for the crew to gather around, as Salazar took a book out of Lesaro’s hand. Nico leaned over to Cora and told her that the book was the ‘Articles of War’ which was a list of rules that all of the crew had to abide by. Salazar addressed the crew, telling them what the crimes of the two men were and, surprisingly, told them exactly who Cora was. She felt her legs turn to jelly and nearly give out underneath her. She wanted to hide behind Nico as the eyes of the crew turned to her but she knew she couldn’t. Anytime she was around the crew of the Silent Mary, she and Nico would have to pretend as if they hadn’t been making out and staring at each other with hearts in their eyes. 

“Articles of War, number 36 – All other crimes not capital committed by any person or persons in the fleet, which are not mentioned in this act, or for which no punishment is hereby directed to be inflicted, shall be punished by the laws and customs in such cases used at sea,” Salazar spoke in both Spanish and English, for Cora to understand exactly what was being said.

“These two men, Garcia and Alonzo, will be made an example of. Take that as your warning. Anyone besides myself and my Officers caught speaking with this woman or anywhere near this woman when Officer Cortez is not escorting her, will be punished.” Again, Salazar spoke in English and his native tongue.

Cora watched as some men shifted uncomfortably as Salazar spoke. He was such a commanding and intimidating force that Cora almost didn’t want to be around herself for fear of getting in trouble. She stole a quick glance at Nico and couldn’t help but wonder if how much trouble he would get in if they were caught. The knot that was growing in her stomach tightened at the thought of him being in the same position as those two men when everything they did so far was consensual.

Salazar turned to Nico, telling him to translate for him from now on. He was tired of having to switch back and forth. Nico nodded in agreement and inched closer to Cora. 

“Do you have anything to say in your defense?” Nico said, into her ear.

One of the men spoke out, his words being choked by his sobs. 

“We did not know that she was so special. We thought she was a common whore.” He spoke again, the warmth of his breath against her ear and his hand on her lower back. She bit her bottom lip, trying to keep her hormones in check. Now was not the time to become aroused by Officer Nico Cortez. 

That defense made Salazar angry. He growled at the men, speaking so quickly that Cora wondered how Nico would even translate it. Being that it was his native tongue, it was, obviously, not a problem.

“Whether she is someone from high society or a common street rat, you should know better than to place your hands on a woman on my ship. We are not pirates. We are sailors of the King’s navy. How dare you disrespect that.” Nico said, before straightening up and placing his hands behind his back. Santos took note of the interaction between the two of them. He knew that Nico was just performing his duty but Cora’s reaction to him made Santos question how she felt about Cortez. He decided to keep an eye on it but he wasn’t going to push the issue. Unless Nico was doing something he shouldn’t, it was none of his business.

The bosun and his second in command, so to speak, held the instruments of pain in their hands, awaiting Salazar’s order. The captain turned to Cora, summoning her closer to the handrails. He wanted her to get a good view of the punishment. When she was close, Salazar tapped his sword against the ground. The screams of the criminals instantly started, as the whips cracked against their skin. Each man was to receive 20 lashes. As each hit landed, a man would call out what number they were on. Each strike sent a shiver down Cora’s spine, it was incredibly difficult to watch but because she was standing in between Salazar and Lesaro, she couldn’t turn away. She was too afraid that they would just turn her around and force her to watch. 

At first, the hits were only leaving welts, making the backs of the men swell. She knew that they wouldn’t be laying on them anytime soon and could only imagine how black and blue they were going to be. Soon, however, the hits were starting to cut into their skin, reminding Cora of a bloody slab of meat. She fanned herself, as she began to feel faint. 

Everyone but the two men were silent. Cora gripped the handrails in front of her, causing Salazar to glance down at her. 

“Have you never watched anything like this before? Surely you’ve seen executions.” 

“I’ve been to them but my mother never allowed me to watch. She would often have me turn around or close my eyes.” Cora said, taking in a deep breath, trying to ground herself. 

As the last hit landed on both men, Cora felt a wave of relief wash over her. She wanted to go back into Nico’s cabin and decompress. With the punishment of those two men, Cora knew that she would be able to walk around the ship more freely, but she still didn’t want to go anywhere without Nico by her side. She felt far more secure with him around. 

Salazar looked back down to Cora and, gently took her hand. Nico narrowed his eyes, as subtly as he could, as his captain guided a confused Cora down the stairs to the upper deck and over to the bosun. After a few words in Spanish to the man, the bosun held out the cat o’ nine tails toward Cora. Her mouth dropped open and her eyes widened at the bloodstained tips of the wax-dipped knots and once again, Cora felt uneasy. Without having to say it to her, Salazar wanted the young woman to get in a whack or two. 

“I-I-I can’t do that,” Cora said, taking a step back. She bumped right into the body of Lieutenant Lesaro, who grabbed ahold of her shoulders to stop her from falling over. The bosun shook the cat o’ nine tails at her, wanting her to take it. Salazar didn’t wait for her, he took the whip and forced it into Cora’s hand. 

“I think,” he said, moving behind her and inching her forward bit by bit. “That it would be beneficial for you to show the crew that you are strong. Show them that you do not fear them.”

“With all due respect, Captain,” Cora said, trying to make herself heavier and trying to dig her heels into the floorboards. Salazar was far much too strong for her, making her attempts at stopping futile. “I don’t think it’s necessary to prove myself.”

“Cora, do you want to cling to Officer Cortez until we get back to Cartagena or do you want to be able to walk the ship freely and not be confined to that cabin?”

Quite frankly, she was happy with just clinging to Nico for the entire voyage, but she wasn’t going to say that out loud. Cora questioned why he cared so much about her leaving Nico’s cabin anyways. 

Once she was in front of the man who had actually raped her, she felt her breath hitch. She hadn’t wanted to be this close to him ever again. The eyes of the crew fell on her, as the sound of blood pumping through her body filled her ears. It was almost deafening and the feeling around her was almost surreal. This felt like a bad nightmare. She looked down at the blood-stained whip then back up at the torn-up back of the man. Garcia was his last name if she remembered correctly. She knew she didn’t have a choice, as she raised the whip up and brought it down with enough force to cause him to whimper and wriggle. 

She, actually, liked the feeling of inflicting pain on him. Something in her seemed to snap, as she raised the whip and landed another hit. Cora felt as if she was on a different astral plane, looking down at herself, mindlessly whipping the man that hurt her. She had to have landed another 5 hits when Salazar grabbed her hand mid-swing. She broke from her trance and looked up at the towering man, swallowing hard. Salazar just nodded at her, as he took the whip from her hand. It was as if he was taking a loaded gun away from a crazed shooter. Nico appeared at her side and began to pull her away, as Salazar spoke to him in Spanish. 

Salazar nodded to the bosun and his helper, allowing them to remove the men from their binds and take them to the sickbay to have a doctor attend to their wounds. His voice bellowed as he spoke in Spanish to the crew, letting them know they need to get back to their chores and that the entertainment was over. Most of the officers stayed on the quarterdeck with Captain Salazar and Lieutenant Lesaro, but Nico took Cora back down to his cabin. The day was almost done for him, but he still needed to get a few things done. When Nico closed the door, he joined Cora on his bed and placed his hand onto her knee. 

“Are you all right?” 

“Yes,” Cora said, placing her hand over his and giving it a gentle squeeze. 

“Are you sure? You became sort of …” Nico swallowed, as he tried to find the proper words. 

“Unhinged,” he said, finally. 

Cora nodded, choosing to remain silent of a moment as she gathered her thoughts.

“I just,” she started, pausing for a moment before continuing. “Wanted him to feel the pain that I had felt.” 

Nico watched her carefully and nodded. He fully understood why she acted the way she did, but he still found it out of character for her. Then again, he hadn’t known her for very long, so for all, he knew this was normal behavior for her. 

“I didn’t feel like myself. I felt like I was standing outside of my body and watching a version of myself beat that man.” 

Cora sighed, looking over at the desk but not really focusing it on it. She was too busy getting lost in her mind. Nico leaned closer to her, pressing his lips against the side of her head. When she turned to look at him, she frowned. 

“What is this?”

“What do you mean?” Nico asked, looking confused. 

“What is  _ this _ ?” Cora said, holding up hands, palms up and moving them in small circles. 

Nico licked his lips and shook his head. He didn’t really know what their relationship consisted of. It, definitely, crossed that line of him just being her guardian during her time on the La María Silenciosa. If he was single and if Cora was Spanish, this question would be so much easier to answer. He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. Cora watched him, the frown returning to her face. 

“There is no simple answer to that.” He said, finally. 

“Could you get in trouble for something as simple as kissing me?”

“Yes, whether you’re on this ship or not,” Nico knew that being in contact with her, other than protecting her, was asking for trouble. However, it was something that he hadn’t really thought about and he didn’t want to think about it. “I could be court-martialed and depending on what the court decides, I could either be removed from duty or killed.” 

Cora sucked in a breath, as she nodded. She had a feeling that his actions could get him into trouble. It seemed like life on naval ships was difficult and, naturally, full of rules. Nico explained to her that because she was considered the enemy, any relationship with him could be a huge problem. The realization that Cora and he couldn’t be together hurt her but she didn’t want to ruin his career or possibly get him killed for just a few kisses. 

“Then, we’re done here.” She said, looking up at him, her face expressionless. 

“Cora,” Nico said with a sigh. 

She shook her head, standing her ground. “I am not going to risk anything happening to you because you like how my lips feel against yours.” 

“Oh,” he started with a cocky grin. “And you don’t like my lips?"

“That’s beside the point, Officer Cortez.” 

“Ah, now you’re back to not saying my name.” Nico cocked his eyebrow at her before he frowned. He was going to miss hearing her melodic voice saying it. 

“If things were different then perhaps we’d have a better chance. But they aren’t.” 

Cora stood up and walked over to the bench on the back wall and took a seat. She grabbed the book she recently started and began reading. She wanted so badly to walk back over to him and kiss him, run her hands through his hair and feel his skin against hers. Salazar and the punishment she just watched and was involved in had stopped her from wanting to pursue Cortez. He was a special man and Cora couldn’t bring herself to risk his life just for selfish purposes. 

**Author's Note:**

> * If anyone has ever seen/read "Master and Commander", then you will know that Hollom and Calamy and the event with the spyglass took place. I couldn't help but give them a shout-out.  
> ** High standing women in the 18th century, for one reason or another, didn't wear any underwear. All they wore, under their garment, was a chemise (a long, white shirt).


End file.
